Mass Exodus
by Puppetmaster24
Summary: Three of the most powerful Eldar craftworlds; Biel Tan, Ulthwe and Iyanden have chosen to flee their own universe and seek refuge from the eternity of war. They have arrived in a new galaxy plagued by it's own problems, and they have some un-invited guests wth them. Can Shepard stop the Reapers when everything she thought she knew is shifting around her.
1. Chapter 1

**Mass Exodus**

 **Prologue**

"Mama?"

A young voice calls through the darkness.

The patter of small feet tip tapping in the black. Tap, tap, tap.

"Mama?" The voice calls again.

Another voice answers. Older, female, laced with worry.

"Isana. Where have you gotten to?"

A small figure steps into the dim light. A young girl. Thin and graceful despite her youth. Her long dress a mixture of the deepest blue and rich yellow. She is swept up into the long slender arms of a tall and beautiful Eldar woman wearing an almost identical dress.

"Isana." She admonished "You mustn't wander off down here. You could easily get lost."

"Mama I saw a Warp Spider." The girl says excitedly.

The woman gives a motherly smile. Any anger she felt at her wayward daughter has long since evaporated "Ahh. That's good luck." She kisses her daughter on the cheek as she lifts her child into her arms.

She carries her through the dim corridors and hallways. The only illumination coming from small lamps embedded in the ceiling.

"Where are we going mama?" Asks the girl.

"Somewhere safe." Answers her mother.

"For when we sleep?"

"Yes my love. For when we sleep. We're going to be sleeping for a very long time. So we need to be kept safe from anyone who might hurt us."

"Like Orks." Says the girl worriedly.

"Like Orks, like Mon-Keigh, like Tau and so many more." Says her mother, holding her close "Which is why we are having the long sleep. While we are sleeping the Craftworld is going to take us somewhere safe. Somewhere, where Orks and Tau and Mon-Keigh cannot get us."

She carries her daughter into a large brightly lit chamber, filled with soft singing. _'The bonesingers are hard at work'_ she thinks to herself as she watches three of her fellow Eldar deftly work their craft. She and her daughter watch them sculpt the final addition to the chamber. One final pod. It taking it's place beside the hundred or so others that filled the room. Arranged in circles, this one completing the final outer ring.

"Assani!" Called Isana and the lead singer turned towards the mother and daughter. Revealing his greying hair and creased brow. The marks of stress and time.

The bonesinger startled upon seeing who was holding the child "Honoured Spiritseer. We did not think you would be here so soon."

"I had to make sure Isana was here sooner rather than later." Said the Spiritseer with a small smile. She places her daughter on the floor and lets her run to Assani. The older Eldar smiled as Isani rushed into him, almost knocking him from is feet. "I'd rather she was safe in her pod before I become to busy to do it myself." Elaborated the Spiritseer."

"Of course." Nodded Assani.

"Is this where I'll be sleeping?" Asks Isana, almost dragging Assani to the newly constructed pod. "For the long sleep?"

"Yes." Answers her mother as she lifts Isana into the well cushioned pod "You'll be in here sleeping while we travel."

Isana almost sinks completely into the deep quilts of the pod. She lies down and looks up expectantly. She frowns "Mama? Why are you sad?"

"I'm not sad my love. Just worried." Answers her mother. She strokes her daughters hair and forces a smile to her lips.

"Don't worry Mama. The Craftworld will look after us." Laughs Isana "We're just travelling."

Her mother laughs despite herself and kisses her daughter on the top of her head "We're just travelling." She repeats quietly "You should sleep now."

Isana nods happily as she leans back into a mountain of cushions. Assani and her mother watch as she drifts of to sleep.

"She will be safe Iyanna." Reassures Assani as he places his had over the activation crystal on the side of the pod.

Iyanna doesn't answer as the stasis field falls into place.

 **0o0**

Three Tau ships moved through the void. The lead ship was flat. A single curved wing riddled with turrets, a series of launch bays covering the front end. The only protrusion being the circular observation point that thrusts out of the top of the ship.

The second was similar to the first. A large, single wing formed the basic shape. The addition of a front, hammer shaped portion was the only thing that would mark it out to the untrained eye.

The final was almost exactly the same as the second. The only difference being the huge dome that expanded the centre of the ship.

As the sand coloured constructs drifted though the cold, dark void of space. They thought they were un-watched. Un-noticed. They were wrong. Across the black. Red eyes watched, and waited.

 **0**

"FIO LA'SHASH!" Shouts a strong but ageing voice "WHERE IN THE NAME OF THE GREATER GOOD ARE MY SPANNER?!" It thunders down, over the smooth white railing into the bowels of the engine room.

"Underneath your foot Fio'O Firir." Says a younger voice from behind the old Tau "And I became Ui last Month if you'll remember." The old Tau turns to see one of his workers. The stooping older Tau looking up slightly to glower into the eyes of his tall (for an earth caste) subordinate.

"Well clean them up!" He snaps, before adding "Fio _UI_ 'Shash" Snidely. "If we're off schedule because I was stuck cleaning up my spanners the whole department will be raked over hot rocks."

"It won't be that bad." Laughs Fio Shash as he leans down to collect the spanner from underneath the heavy work boot if his senior. "I'm sure Por'vre Tsu'bur will be understanding."

"Why would he be? The water caste are never understanding." Grumbled Firir.

Fio Shash stood up and smiled down at Firir "Well you are quite old."

"GET BACK TO WORK!"

 **0**

Firir stepped into the caste meeting hall. The domed room was brightly lit but sparsely decorated. Nothing graced the white sloping walls. In the very centre of the room lay it's only feature other than the doors that Firir had walked through. Four tables arranged to form a square. One table was blue, another green, another red and the final brown. Each of the tables except the brown was occupied by three people, it was occupied by only two. Firir took his place between his two Earth caste subordinates.

Opposite him was Shas'O Or'es. She looked across at him with one eye, the other long since removed by an Orkish axe. They nodded to each other respectfully. To his left was the tall, thin frames of the Air caste. Firir had quite forgotten their names. He never had the misfortune to interact to much with them. And finally on his right were the water caste, the administrators of this whole experiment. He had the distinct misfortune of interacting with them an a daily basis. Por'Vre Tsu'bur was quickly becoming his least favourite person in the whole empire.

All four groups were talking quietly amoungst themselves. Preparing the notes for their final reports or discussing the general goings on around the ship. This talk ceased immediately as the representative for the fifth and final caste entered the chamber. Tall and regal, the Ethereal swept into the room accompanied by his student. The two Ethereals reached the tables but only the senior of the two moved into the centre of the square. He turned to Firir and addressed him in a soft but commanding voice.

"Fio'O Fi'rios Firir. How close are we to performing a safe test run?"

Firir tried to lie. He could say they have everything prepared, by the time to run the device came he would have had everything ready. But he couldn't bring himself to lie to the Ethereal "We'll have everything ready by tomorrow morning."

"That is behind schedule Fio'O Fi'rios Firir." Intoned the Etheral.

"I'm sorry." Muttered Firir helplessly "But..."

Por'Vre Tsu'bur interjected with a voice like silk "If you had followed my schedule to the letter you would have been done almost a week ago."

Firir growled "Your schedule wasn't worth the paper it was printed on. You didn't allow any time for overrunning repairs or unforeseen circumstances."

"I thought you understood this machine. You've had over three years in which to study it." Said Por'Vre Tsu'bur with infuriating calm.

"You have had three years." Commented the Ethereal quietly.

Firir took a calming breath "With all due respect Aun'Vre T'olku Prinol, this devices operates on principles that defy all the laws of physics as we know it. We still don't know how the first device does what it does. The second device doesn't appear to do anything at all, we're just assuming it is required for the safe running of the first device."

Aun'Vre Prinol nodded sagely "Did you make Por'Vre Ke'lshan Tsu'bur aware of these difficulties. I know I was not aware of them."

Firir felt a whole open up in the pit of his stomach "I'm afraid to tell you that I did make your predecessor aware of these problems. He told me that the experiment was going ahead anyway. And I tried to make Por'VreTsu'bur aware of them but I consistently failed to. I was always told by one of his adjuncts that 'it would be brought to his attention'." Firir looked over to Por'Vre Tsu'bur who at least had the decency to look embarrassed.

Aun'Vre Prinol looked over to the water caste table. "Is this true Por'Vre Ke'lshan Tsu'bur?"

"If it was truly urgent it would have been brought to my attention." Defended Por'Vre Tsu'bur feebly "Fio'O Firir should have made the difficulties clear to my subordinates."

Firir almost exploded in rage, but his impending rant was halted by the deceptively soft voice of Aun'Vre Prinol "In future I hope you will make it clear to your adjuncts that they are not to judge what is and isn't urgent. Especially when it concerns the business of other castes."

"Of course Aun'Vre Prinol." Said Por'Vre Tsu'bur.

Aun'Vre Prinol turned back to Firir "And Fio'O Fi'rios Firir. I hope you will bring such problems to my attention rather than wait till the last moment. I am here to solve such problems."

"Of course Aun'Vre Prinol." Said Firir.

Aun'Vre Prinol turned to Shas'O Or'es. "Shas'O I assume your report will be the same as it ever is." He said calmly.

Shas'O Or'es straightened her back and spoke with a voice like gravel. Her vocal cords worn down by years of barking orders over the din of battle "As ever we have had no security breaches. But Shaper Korless is complaining about a growing lack of meat. I have already begun rationing the meat supply amongst my fire squads but I would recommend that Por'Vre Tsu'bur implement the same policy across all three ships."

Por'Vre Tsu'bur nodded "We are expecting another shipment of all supplies in five hours but I will defer to your experience in matters of limited supplies."

Shas'O Or'es nodded back "In that case I conclude my report."

Aun'Vre Prinol finally turned his attention to the Air caste table. "Kor'O T'olku Fralom." He began with the same quiet voice "Have you anything new to report?"

At ten foot tall Kor'O T'olku Fralom was tall even by the standards of the Air caste. He couldn't even stand without the aid of a sophisticated suit created by the Earth caste. "I have nothing major to report. We'll be passing into the radiation field of a neutron star in a few hours if we don't change our course but I need your approval to do so. It will not interfere with the running of the ship but it could effect the proper running of the device according to Fio'O Firir." Aun'Vre Prinol turned to Firir and gave him a polite look of questioning.

"The odds of it effecting the device are infinitesimal. But the radiation could easily effect the more sensitive scanners we'll be using to monitor the effects of the device." Supplied Firir.

Aun'Vre Prinol nodded with understanding. "You have permission to change course. But Inform Bork'An control of the change."

"Understood Aun'Vre."

The Ethereal took a moment to observe the caste leaders. He knew he was the rod of strength that held them all together. Firir could almost see the strain upon Aun'Vre Prinol's face. He knew the other's wouldn't be able to spot the subtle signs, the wrinkled brow, the way his hand clenched his staff a little tighter during these meetings. He was only able to spot them due to his lifetime of experience dealing with the Ethereal caste.

"We will begin the start-up of the device at ten o'clock tomorrow morning." Said Aun'Vre Prinol with finality, before adding "But only when Fio'O Firir is absolutely satisfied that it is safe to do so."

no one even thought about arguing. A command from an Ethereal was as final as it came.

 **0o0**

Iyanna Arienal walked with purpose as entered the dome. Light streamed in through the clear crystal as Iyanden slowly passed a small star. It gave a subtle illumination to a large garden. Until recently it had been carefully tended and a wildness had taken a hold of it. To the three Eldar inhabiting the room the garden was no less beautiful, just different.

Iyanna approached the two other Eldar. The first was wearing white armour, under his arm he held a tall green helm. On his hip hung a long chain sword. This was a counterpoint to the other, who wore long black robes embroidered with bone white runes.

"Autarch. Honoured Farseer." Greeted Iyanna "I apologize for my lateness. I had to ensure my daughter entered the long sleep in peace."

"The long sleep?" Questioned the other Farseer with a small smile. His face was marked by time, his tremendous age showing in the form of small wrinkles around his eyes and mouth.

Iyanna gave a hollow smile "It is what I called the stasis sleep so she would not worry."

"I understand. I told my own daughter a number of untrue things when she was younger. A particular favourite of her mothers was that if she continued to cheat on her mathematics tests, then Krandras would come and take her away."

"Where to?" Asked the Autarch curiously.

"We never actually said where to. And it never stopped her cheating." Sighed the older Eldar, smiling to himself.

"I do not wish to interrupt the reminiscing." Interrupted the Autarch "But we are here for a reason."

"Quite right." Agreed the Farseer "Iyanna, how close is Iyanden to being ready?"

"All that remains are the bonesingers." She answered.

The Farseer nodded as the Autarch asked "Who have you selected as your guardian?"

"A mother who died defending her children from a Tyranid beast."

"I can think of no one finer for the duty." Commented the Farseer "Ulthwe has selected a warlock to be ours." He turned to the Autarch "And Biel Tan?"

"We have chosen an Exarch of the Striking Scorpions." He supplied "Also, we are almost ready to travel ourselves. All that remains is to power down our Webway gates, which will be done upon my return."

"Ulthwe is the same." Commented the Farseer. "In twelve hours we shall all activate the traveller drives. And make our way to a knew home."

"Agreed." Said the Autarch.

"Agreed." Added Iyanna.

The Farseer nodded. Then he transformed from his solid shape into a thick white smoke before melting into wisps of nothing.

"I shall leave you to your final preparations." Said the Autarch before he walked quickly from the dome, leaving Iyanna to her thoughts and worries.


	2. Chapter 2

**Mass Exodus**

 **Prologue Two**

Matriarch Nurada looked around the room. It was a rather steep sided amphitheatre designed for giving lectures to large amounts of students. It was currently full. Almost all the maidens from this years graduating class were contained within it. Her lecture was but the latest in a series. All to help the Asari of the next generation safely interact with a dangerous galaxy. She thought it was rather stupid no other race seemed to perform this service for it's young.

The lights above the seating dimmed as she stepped up to the dais. She watched the room fall into a still hush as over 100 maiden's stopped chattering idly. It was gratifying to know that they would listen to what she had to say.

"Greetings students." She announced cordially "I am Matriarch Nurada. Some of you may have seen me wandering around the college grounds, but you may not know that I was recently appointed to the position of chief lecturer in regards to Human Anthropology and History. In particular I am seen as the foremost expert on the Shamans of Earth."

The Matriarch paused for a brief moment to take a sip of water and to allow the mass chattering of the students die down again. When the room was silent she began again.

"Now I understand many of you will not be applying for diplomatic positions on the Citadel, even though this is a course on inter-species diplomacy. Instead many of you will choose to simply wander the galaxy having a lot of fun I'm sure." She chuckled quietly as a number of the assembly began to look around sheepishly "But I hope you will still listen and take on board what I have to say."

"I have been asked to give a lecture on the Shamans of Earth and how they relate to the current diplomatic situation the Citadel races have with the Alliance and Earth.

"First of all it is very important to know the history of Shamanism. Shamans as a society are very aware of their own past and view it as a guide upon how to act in the future. The greatest way to convince a Shaman to do something, or aid you in any way, is to provide an example from history that matches your own situation and use that to prove that helping you would aid humanity."

"The history of Shamanism is a long one. Almost as long as the history of Humanity itself. The first Shamans began to appear amongst Humanity's population almost 12,000 years ago. To this day no one knows what caused these extraordinary being to start appearing. Currently there is estimated to be around 15,000 Shamans in Citadel space. And this number has been incredibly consistent throughout Human history. Shamans believe that this is because new Shamans stopped appearing on Earth around 10,000 years ago. Most, if not all Humans believe that each Shaman alive today is simply the re-incarnation of a Shaman from the previous generation, and that Shaman was the re-incarnation of another previous Shaman, and so on and so on until the unbroken chain of re-incarnations reaches the original Shaman who was born almost 12,000 years ago. It is simply accepted by the greater part of humanity that when a Shaman dies his 'soul' returns to a realm called the Aether, and that when it is time for him or her to be reborn they will inhabit a new body and be reborn into the real world. Interestingly, Shamans say that all living being have a soul but only Shaman souls are reborn this way. They don't claim to know why."

"Whether you believe in re-incarnation or not it has been proven (with great difficulty) that a Shaman can remember his or her previous lives with incredible accuracy. This is usually achieved through long sessions of personal and guided meditation, the previous life of the Shaman is usually the easiest to recall and will often come through in the Shamans dreams. But the further back the Shaman wishes to travel the longer and more intensive the meditation session needs to be."

"This ability to remember previous lives has given the Shamans an important role in the history of Humanity. Shamans are seen as wise and all knowing. And given that a Shaman skilled in the arts of meditation can have almost twenty lifetimes worth of experience to draw on they have more than earned this reputation."

Nurada looked around at the assembled students. She decided it was time to see how many of them actually read the literature she sent around the previous week.

"How many of you can tell me how to readily identify a Shaman?" She asked.

A smattering of hands rose into the air. She picked one at random.

"They all have a staff." Answered the girl.

"No. But close." Chuckled Nurada "Some Shamans do have staves yes, but not all. A Shaman earns their staff upon completion of their greater Shamanistic education. Most will be at least fifty before this happens. The easiest way to identify a Shaman is their pendant. Each Shaman will have a pendant unique to their soul."

"When a Shaman is discovered (usually by another Shaman) they are taken to Earth, specifically a place called Stonehenge in England, and they are given an education unique to Shamans. Upon their 12th birthday they undertake what Humans refer to as a vision quest. The aim of this is to discover which soul they are. The Shamans say that they can trace the complete lineages of certain souls, from re-incarnation to re-incarnation, all the way back to when humans were first able to record such things."

"Upon discovering which soul inhabits the Shaman they are given a pendant which carries a symbol unique to that soul. The symbols themselves are varied but each one does have a single repeating motif, an eye. It's thought this represents what Humans call 'the minds eye'. But the Shamans appear to have no comment upon this."

"Now. Who can tell me about the Illuminate?"

This time a single hand rose into the air. Nurada spotted a number of rolling eyes, from which she deduced that this girl often knew all the answers. She motioned to the girl, giving her permission to speak.

"The Illuminate are the servants of the Shamans. They are the ones who used to defend them from witch hunters and religious fanatics."

"More or less correct." Conceded Nurada "Although to call the Illuminate servants does them a great disservice. Shamans try to act as guides for Humanity. But often they struggle to communicate what they want to achieve and how to do it. The Illuminate act as the mouthpiece for the Shamans and enact their will when the Shamans are unable to do so."

"But you are correct about their role as the defenders of the Shamans. Over 2500 years ago Humanity saw a great increase in it's monotheistic religious tradition. A common doctrine in these religions was the killing of witches and sorcerers. This saw the Shamans being hunted and often killed by mobs of superstitious men and women. It is at this point that the Illuminate first took on it's role as the protectors of the Shamans."

"The Illuminate had existed previous to this though. Who can tell me when they were founded and by whom?"

The same precocious young Asari raised her hand. Nurada gave a small smile at her enthusiasm and gave another wave of consent.

"They were founded by Gilgamesh of Sumeria in..." The girl visibly struggled to remember the date.

"It was around 2700 BC according to Human dating system." Nurada supplied "Which you should all be familiar with." She added pointedly before continuing.

"It should be noted that we have no idea if this is really accurate. Almost everything we know from this period of history comes from a mixture of contemporary documents (which are potentially inaccurate due to the authors bias or doctored at a later date) and the writings of a Shaman from Tibet called Jungney. He claimed that he could spend so long in meditation that he could recall being Gilgamesh. No one is entirely sure if Jungney was telling the truth or not."

"But according to these sources Gilgamesh founded the Illuminate to act as a form of secret police, to enact his decisions as they pertained to his fellow Shamans. Gradually they grew into the 'servants' of the Shamans of Sumer and later Akkad."

"Now who can tell me when knowledge of the Illuminate became public?" Asked Nurada, and this time no one raised their hands. Mainly because she hadn't put it into her required reading. "I hoped some of you would do some extra reading on this subject but apparently not." She commented with a small smile.

"The Illuminate only became public knowledge in 1953, 230 years ago. Those familiar with the Human dating system will be aware that this is over 4000 years after they were founded. The fact that they managed to maintain this veil of secrecy is nothing short of astounding and even to this day intimate knowledge of it's inner workings is all but impossible to come by."

Nurada noticed that one of the students had raised her hand. Nurada nodded at her with a smile. "How did they become public knowledge?" She asked quietly.

"They were revealed by a whistle blower who was not entirely pleased with the way that the Shamans, and by extension the Illuminate, had handled the rise of various fascist states across the planet. He revealed the Illuminate and re-revealed the Shamans, who had kept their existence secret since around 450 BC. He gave a number of public announcements denouncing the Shamans decision to not prevent or even hinder the rise of these fascist states."

Nurada saw another raised hand and motioned for the question.

"What was so bad about the fascist states?" Asked a noticeably younger Asari.

"That is not the focus of today's lecture. I will say simply this, Never suggest to a Human that the fascist states were a good thing. Ever. It was a brutal, horrific time in Earth's history." Nurada sighed inwardly. She had seen even Krogan Battlemasters pale at the pictures and descriptions of what had happened across Earth during those years. These students probably thought of humans as the harmless newcomers of the galaxy. There was no quicker way to destroy that idea that to look up 'Auschwitz' on the Extranet.

"For the Shamans this represents their greatest failure. They see themselves as the guides of Humanity, and from the shadows they had guided their charges straight into one of the bloodiest periods in Human history. The Shaman had been revealed as the accidental architects of a series of horrific genocides. The rest of Humanity was not happy. But even after this the Shamans tried to guide humanity. This time through public proclamations."

"First they were derided as charlatans. After it was proven they could re-incarnate, they were seen as power grabbing tricksters. But after many years of ignored advice to world leaders, people began to notice that the Shamans new what they were talking about.

"The Shamanistic Reformation began in Britain during a world wide financial depression. The government at the time began to follow the advice of a Shaman who had formerly been a financial genius during the French Revolution. Following this advice gave Britain a singular edge during the next few years and Britain began to overtake other, more financially secure nations. This prompted other nations to take on Shaman advisers of their own. And not just for financial advice. America, for instance, took on the resurrection of Genghis Khan as their military advisor and subsequently won their 8 year long war in the middle east in a little over 5 months. Although his methods were much criticised at the time."

"It was now that the Shamans came closest to re-living their glory days of Sumer and Akkad when they were known as the God-kings of Babylon. Now, who can tell me what happened next?"

This time no one raised their hand. Which she had not expected because it was covered quite thoroughly in the text that has been handed out to the students.

"The Shamans formed a ruling council. Previous to this, each Shaman had simply followed their own vision for Humanity. This had inevitably lead to conflicts between different Shamans. No one is sure how these were resolved but they had apparently been damaging to the Shaman community. Now the Shamans were in the public eye again, conflicts between them had the potential to become even more damaging. So a meeting was held between almost every Shaman on Earth where they came to the conclusion that they needed some form of ruling body to help define the goals they would guide Humanity towards. So they elected ten of their most senior Shamans to a council that would rule all Shamans, but not Humanity."

"The first decision made by this council, named The Council of Nikaea, was that they could not rule humanity, only advise and to guide. So they recalled each Shaman who had taken positions in government. And instead chose to act as impartial advisor's and mediators."

"Humanity listened to The Council of Nikaea, and soon it entered into a veritable golden age of scientific and cultural progress. This ultimately lead them to discover the Prothean ruins on Mars. And the rest you should know from your lectures regarding modern galactic history."

Nurada looked around at the faces of the students. Most of them had become thoroughly bored by the lecture. She reflected it wasn't a very interesting subject to maidens due to the lack of sex and violence.

"But how does this affect us? I hear you ask." Commented Nurada, trying to inject a bit of life into her lecture. "All that history was to explain that when a Shaman talks, Humans listen. A Shaman who has earned his or her staff commands immense respect from their fellow Humans, and dealing with the subject of Shamans is important if you wish to interact successfully with a Human." She noticed a number of girls visibly perk up as the mention of 'interacting'. Obviously they thought she was giving them advice about a very different form of interaction.

"If you get drawn into a discussion about Shamans when a Human is present follow these simple rules and you shouldn't find yourself in a fist fight with a Human."

"The first; Never insult Shamans or Shamanism. This should be obvious. Remember when you say anything about Shamans you are talking about one of the oldest and most respected institutions in Earth's History."

"Which leads me to the second rule; Never tell a Human that souls don't really exist. They won't care what you've read in whatever scientific journal you've been reading. And they won't care how much proof there may be. Humans believe in the soul with an almost religious fervour. And some have been known to get physically violent when confronted about this belief."

"The third and final rule should only really be applied when interacting directly with a Shaman; Show the utmost respect. When you're talking with a Shaman you are in fact talking with someone who could have memories and experiences stretching back hundreds or even thousands of years. They deserve your respect. But more importantly. Shamans seem to live far longer than a normal human, and a Shaman will inevitably end up in a position of great respect and power in Human society. Being friends with a Shaman could put you in a very good position in the future."

"Do any of you have any questions?" Asked Nurada finally.

She saw a number of hands being raised and pointed to the one nearest the podium she was speaking from.

"Is it true Shamans have magic powers?" Asked a rather timid Asari.

A wave of stifled laughter went around the room. Nurada quietened it with a harsh glance around the room. "That is not the focus of this lecture." She began "But I will say that there have been scattered reports from various sources of Shamans creating fire from their bare hands, summoning winds to change the weather and other such things. They have never demonstrated these abilities on camera or any other recording device and when asked a Shaman will usually avoid the question and change the subject somehow."

"The only ability they have ever confirmed is what they call their third eye. When a Shaman looks with their third eye they claim to be able to see a persons soul. And apparently this tells them all about that person. Their emotional state, their personal history, even if they are lying about something. Very few non-humans believe in the third eye and even some Humans doubt it really exists."  
"Next question."

"What is Stonehenge?" Asked an Asari from the back of the room.

"Stonehenge is a collection of primitive rock structures constructed by a tribe of Humans in what they call the Stone Age. It is a sight of great spiritual significance to Shamans and it is where The Council of Nikaea meet to discuss their business."

"Who's the leader of the Illuminate?"

Nurada sighed softly "No one outside of the Illuminate knows. All we know is; roughly when they were founded, when they became public knowledge, that they follow the will of the Shamans and that they also consider themselves the first line of defence against rogue Shamans. That's it. We don't even know how many members the Illuminate has. Some have even suggested that the Illuminate aren't real, that they're just a ruse by the Shamans to disguise some greater plan. In fact, in the early 21st century 'Illuminate disproved' became an internet joke referring to someone trying to disprove incredibly obvious facts."

"Any more questions?" Asked Nurada, seeing no more hands in the air. "None? Well then I think we can consider this lecture over." She smiled and stepped gracefully away from the podium to a small but welcome round of applause.


	3. Chapter 3

**Mass Exodus**

 **Prologue Three**

"Commander Shepard." Greeted Nihlus "I was hoping you'd get here first. It will give us a chance to talk." He crossed his arms and looked down at the woman. Her red hair was in a functional bob cut (not that Nihlus could have named the style) that would not interfere with her helmet, her black armour was of an older style but had been kept in pristine condition. The only item that seemed out of place was a small golden pendant around her neck. A pair crossed of lightning bolts under an open eye.

"You are a Shaman." He added quickly before she could speak "I am unaware of the protocol. Do I still refer to you as commander?" He asked

Shepard spoke with a softer voice than most people expected given she was a military officer. "Civilians are suppose to refer to me as 'Shaman' but it's not a rule. Members of the military are required to refer to me by rank to prevent confusion in the field."

"Very sensible." Said Nihlus with a smile "This world we're going to, Eden Prime, I've heard it's quite beautiful."

"Some people say it's a paradise."

"A well defended paradise?" Asked Nihlus "It has become a symbol for your people after all."

"Why do you ask Nihlus?" Asked Shepard suspiciously "Do you know something?"

"Are you asking as a commander or as a Shaman?"

Shepard narrowed her eyes at the question "I'm asking as someone who doesn't like getting shot at. Do you think Eden Prime will be attacked?"

"I thinks it's about time we told the commander what's really going on." Interrupted the deep voice of Captain Anderson.

"We're going to Eden Prime to perform a covert pick-up." Supplied Nihlus.

Shepard gave a half smile "That's why we needed the stealth system operational. What are we collecting?"

"A Prothean beacon was uncovered by a dig crew near the main colony." Answered Nihlus " It seems to be some kind of data storage device. We need to get it back to the Citadel. There is no telling how much Prothean knowledge it contains."

Shepard gave Anderson a cool look "Why wasn't I informed this was our mission?"

"This came from the top. Strictly need to know. If you're wondering why you weren't informed as a Shaman it's probably because we didn't tell the council of Nikaea." Said Anderson.

Shepard raised an eyebrow "Why not?"

"Because Alliance Command don't trust the Illuminate Shepard, you know that. We tell the Shamans, they tell the Illuminate. And soon the whole galaxy knows something that should be kept secret" Anderson sighed deeply "I know the shamans and the Illuminate mean well. But this policy of transparency just isn't helping us in a changing galaxy."

Nihlus coughed somewhat nervously "The beacon isn't the only reason I'm here."

Shepard gave Nihlus a confused look "It's not?"

"He's here to oversee you during the operation." Said Anderson in a proud voice "To see whether he wants to recommend you to the Spectres."

Shepard blinked at the captain "The Spectres? You want me to join the Spectres?"

Anderson stepped forward, placing his hand on Shepards shoulder "You've earned this Shepard. Not many people could have survived what you went through on Akuze."

"Please don't mention that." Muttered Shepard.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think." Apologised Anderson "But it's true. And having a Human Spectre could really show the Council how far Humanity has come."

"This will only be the first of several missions Commander." Added Nihlus "Becoming a Spectre is not easy, but from what I've heard you are more than capable."

"Captain we've got a problem!" Cried Joker over the intercom.

Anderson replied in a voice clearly showing his displease at being interrupted "What is it Joker?"

"Transmission from Eden Prime sir, you'd better see this."

Anderson stepped over to the large holo screen that occupied the far wall of the briefing room "Bring it up on screen."

The screen flashed to life, showing in vivid detail a clearly well trained marine firing her rifle at an off screen foe. "Get down!" She tells whoever is holding the camera. The view becomes a gut churning wobble as the camera falls to the ground with its operator. Another marine, an officer, comes into view and begins shouting down the camera "We are under attack! Taking heavy casualties! I repeat: Taking heavy casualties!" The signal became weaker as he continues, clearly oblivious to his garbled voice "We can't-" *fzzt* "-eed evac! They came out" *fzzt* "-nowhere! We need-"

Suddenly he falls down, dead. The marines in the footage stop firing. Their weapons fall as they gaze in a mixture of wonder and horror. The camera pans around to show the source of their expressions. A huge purple ship, made up of a long organic looking hull with five leg like protrusions hanging off of the end. Their is a huge blast of sound, the camera wobbles franticly for a few moments before the signal cuts completely, showing only static.

"Everything cut's out after that. No comm traffic at all. Just nothing." Said Joker.

"Reverse and hold at 38.5." Commands Anderson.

The video reverses to show the purple ship. A good look shows just how big it is. Everyone is silent. Except Anderson, who demands "Status report."

"Seventeen minutes out captain. No other Alliance ships in the area." Supplied Joker.

"Take us in Joker, fast and quiet." Orders Anderson "This mission just got a lot more complicated."

 **0o0**

Fio'O Firir looked up at the huge array of screens and digital readouts. He and Fio'La Orna'shash were struggling to keep up with the sheer amount of data presented to them. Radiation levels, temperatures and even the gravity in various parts of the ship were at Firir's fingertips. But the only thing he cared about was the power being consumed by the device he was in charge of. He jotted down a quick calculation and looked up at the screen with a frown.

"0.01% increase in consumption per second." He told Orna'shash "Turn dial sixteen up to level five."

"Understood."

Firir followed the power increase on the screen. Another quick calculation was performed before he said with satisfaction "1% increase every second." He pressed a small button on his chair and spoke clearly but slowly into the air "Kor'O we will be within safe operating power levels in three minutes. You may activate the device at your own discretion."

He was answered by Kor'O Fralom speaking in the same slow manner as Firir "Understood. Confirmation, three minutes till safe operating levels."

"Confirmed." Replied Firir. "I will inform you of any changes."

"Understood. Closing communications."

 **0**

Kor'O Fralom stood on the deck of his ship _The Waking Tide_. He looked down at his crew from his command pedestal. Their consoles arranged in a ring around him. All took for him to talk directly with the weapons officer was for him to swivel his chair in place. The same was true of the pilot, the liaison officer for engineering and all the officers responsible for every part of the ship. He sat back into his chair, the reduced gravity allowing him to almost float backwards into the padding.

"Kor'O. I trust all goes well?" Asked a soft voice from behind him. He turned to see Aun'Vre Prinol struggling to walk properly up the step of the command pedestal.

"Would you like some help Ethereal?" He asked politely.

"No no no, I'm sure I will be fine. I am just not used to walking under such conditions."

Fralom watched as the Ethereal's normal grace and practised poise dissipated as he tried to walk without bouncing. He could not help but smile. When Prinol had first arrived on the ship Fralom was worried that he would order the gravity on the bridge to be increased so he could walk with dignity. Fralom had heard of other Ethereals doing so and severely hampering the performance of the bridge crew.

"How well do we progress with the experiment?" Asked Aun'Vre Prinol as he finally reached Fralom's chair.

Fralom checked his stop-watch "We should be ready to activate the device in under two minutes Ethereal-"

"ORK SHIP DETECTED!" Came a frantic shout from the sensor officer "ON THE STARBOARD BOW!"

"On screen! Where did it come from!" Shouted Fralom "Why didn't we spot it?!"

He looked up at the bank of screens that formed one wall of the bridge. It showed the brutal form of an Ork cruiser. It seemed to snarl at them, cutting through space like a predator made of metal. Decorative eyes sat above a humongous set of pincers, big enough the cut _The Waking Tide_ in two. Fralom could see the glow from its crude engines as the titanic construction sped towards them. The steel slabs of its armoured hide was painted a dirty purple. Fralom recognised the ship. It was _Da Git Smasha_. An Ork pirate vessel. It's captain was known for capturing Tau alive and painting his ships hull with their blood.

" _The Raised Spear_ is moving to intercept Kor'O!" Shouted his communications officer.

"Tell them to remain in formation. Order all ships to prepare starboard railguns. Aim to disable that claw."

A few moments later the communications officer spoke again "All ships await your order sir."

"FIRE!

 **0**

The turrets on the Tau ships spoke as one. Huge Tungsten Carbide slugs tore from the barrels of the Tau railguns, crossing the gulf of space in moments. The first volley smashed into the Ork shields and were shunted into the warp by looted void shields. On board _Da Git Smasha_ hundreds of mekboys and Grots died as the shield generator overheated and released super heated cooling agent into the engine room. The Ork guns spoke in return. Token though they were _Da Git Smasha_ did possess some ranged armaments.

Orks bellowed with glee as they watched Grot slaves press the buttons and pull the levers that unleashed hundreds of tons of steel and lead at the small Tau fleet. Powered by their own fuel, magnetic induction motors and even traditional gunpowders the Ork projectiles crossed the black almost as fast as the Tau slugs. Ork joy turned to anger as the salvo bounced off the Tau gravity shields. Naturally the Grots were blamed.

The Tau ships fired again. This time it was in an organised volley. The two smallest ships fired at _Da Git Smasha_ first. It's shields buckled under the strain of the enemy fire, but _Da Git Smasha_ took not a single hit. Then _The Raised Spear_ fired. Almost twice as much metal was launched by this single ship as the first volley from the two other ships combined. This fusillade of metal hit home. The front end of _Da Git Smasha_ disappeared as hundreds of tons of metal was torn to shreds and reduced to molten slag by the Tau gunfire.

 **0**

Cheers erupted on the Bridge of _The Waking Tide_ as they watched _The Raised Spear_ tear into the Ork ship.

"Quiet!" Shouted Fralom "We're not out of this yet!"

Almost as if on que. The Ork ship increased it's speed to insane levels. And aimed itself at _The Raised Spear,_ which unleashed another volley of fire. This time the railguns tore almost clean through the Ork ship. But it didn't slow down the huge lump of metal and angry greenskins. Fralom knew if that ship hit _The Raised Spear_ even in it's damaged state, it would destroy the Tau ship. He looked down at his stop-watch. It read minus thirty seconds.

"Activate the Device!" He shouted.

"Kor'O?" Questioned Prinol "I don't think this-"

"DO IT!" Shouted the frantic Air caste captain.

 **0**

Reality tore asunder. A gaping maw of un-reality opened ahead of the Tau fleet. Tendrils of dark energy reached out towards the three ships, and even the speeding wreck of the Ork cruiser. _The Waking Wave_ vibrated as the device wired into it's core continued to strain the engines, drinking them dry of energy. There was an almost audible snap as the fleet suddenly became surrounded by a bubble of blue energy. The black tendrils probed the blue shell dumbly, but none of them could break through the field.

 _Da Git Smasha_ passed harmlessly through the shell of energy. Still advancing upon _The Raised Spear_. But just as the Ork ship entered the shell, reality shook. Another tear in the fabric of reality reached out to the ships. All four of them became engulfed in the baleful energies of the warp. A wave of energy slammed into the parts of _Da Git Smasha_ not covered by the blue shell of energy. As soon as _Da Git Smasha_ was struck by the energy it's momentum ceased and it ground to a lumbering halt.

On _The Raised Spear_ the Tau cheered in relief. The cheers turned to cries of alarm as the fleet became completely enveloped by a bubble of raw warp.

 **0o0**

Iyanna Arienal stepped towards her stasis pod. She was accompanied by the huge form of Iyanden's chosen guardian. A wraithlord, inhabited by the soul of an Eldar mother who had given her life to defend her children. Iyanna spoke to the woman through the spirit world, the only way she could hear words.

" _No one will blame you if you should fall. We will always remember you, no matter what happens. But please, defend my daughter._ " She plead.

The ghost warrior answered in a series of images, the only way the dead could communicate with the living. Iyanna saw herself running with her daughter through fields of golden corn. She took no small amount of comfort from the vision.

 **0**

"Father I wish you would have let me visit Lady Iyanna. You are far to old to-"

"I am old enough to know my own limits Taldeer." Chuckled Eldrad "Anyway, it must have been me. It would be an insult to send the daughter of Ulthwe's leader when he is quite capable of visiting himself."

Taldeer sighed "They would have understood, they are not children."

Eldrad chuckled at the look his daughter gave him. Standing, legs apart, hands on hips, her creased brow half hiding the tear-drop tattoo on her forehead.

"You look so much like your mother." he said quietly.

Taldeer's frown immediately wavered. It became a look of concern as Eldrad tried to sit up from his bed. His bones creaked as he tried and failed to bend his back. She rushed forwards to lift him from the hard mattress. Once the aged Eldar was standing firm She took his arm in her own and they stepped towards the rooms door.

"It's getting worse isn't it?" She whispered.

"Yes." He answered, just as quiet "Soon I will join my peers in the Dome of Crystal Seers."

"Not for a long time yet I'm sure." Said Taldeer with a hollow smile, trying to convince herself as much as her father. "Come. Let me help you to your stasis pod."

"I am quite capable of doing so without your help." He muttered with a smile. But he did not relinquish his grip on her arm.

 **0**

The figure stood on the edge of the bluff and looked up at the sky. His green armour's mirror shine reflected the stars he was watching. The advanced auto-senses in his helmet informed him of the slow powering down of the whole craftworld. The lights that gave the great domes of Biel Tan their artificial light were all off. The infinity circuit withdrew from the recycling devices that imitated the natural processes of a real planet. The only energy being used was directed towards the millions of stasis pods held in various parts of the mighty craft. And the newly constructed gellar field generator and insanely powerful warp engine. The figure shuddered as the stars themselves became covered by a curtain of deep blue as the craftworld created a bubble of reality to defend itself against the predations of the warp.

As the figure felt the craftworld sink into the immaterium he gently placed his chainsword on the floor. He sat beside it cross legged and closed his eyes. He began to repeat a single mantra that took him into a deep state of meditation. 'I am the first and last line of defence'

 **0**

Across the Imperium of Man; Astropaths screamed as they felt reality shudder down to it's core.

Across myriad craftworlds; Farseer, Spiritseers and Warlocks smiled through the pain as they felt the gambit pay off.

Deep in the halls of Commorragh; A man of extraordinary influence and power tried to hide his anger as he was told what has transpired.

And in the warp, at the centre of a realm of seven layers; A cheated god screamed with a rage that could have shattered realities.

Deep in the warp the three mighty ships plunged through the deepest parts of hell. They tore their way through the walls of time and reality. They careened towards their target, a new universe where the warp was calm. An uninhabited galaxy in which to start anew. But with them they dragged a much smaller bubble of reality. And as a butterfly flapping it's wing may start a hurricane far across the world, so this small factor altered the course of the craftworlds and they entered a new reality which was not quite an uninhabited as the Eldar had planned.

 **0o0**

Shepard ran down the ramp towards the beacon. Snapping shots off towards the husks as they run at her from behind the crates. She hears Kaiden and Ashley do the same. The three of them quickly clear out the rest of the platform. Including the Geth troopers that had hidden themselves away behind cover.

"Area secure." Declares Kaiden after inspecting his scanner.

Ashley Williams stepped over to the platforms edge. "My god!" She exclaims "It's like someone dropped a bomb."

Shepards steped over as well and looked. She saw a huge area of ground, burned black. Criss crossed with glowing red cracks, it was clear that something of incredible heat had blasted the area.

"This must be where the Geth ship landed." Said Kaiden.

Shepard takes a step back and calls the Normandy for pick-up as Ashley and Kaiden step towards the beacon. "Actual working Prothean technology." Says Kaiden in amazement.

"It wasn't doing anything like that when they dug it up." Says Ashley somewhat dismissively.

She steps back to talk to Shepard but Kaiden does not join her. He continues to inspect the beacon in wonder. "Something must have activated it." He mutters before taking another step forward. Suddenly, an invisible force grabs him and pulls him towards the ancient device. Despite his struggles he moves inexorably towards the beacon. Shepard turns to look at Ashley and sees Kaiden over her shoulder. Without thinking she rushes over and grabs him. Pulling him clear of the whatever is dragging him forward. Then whatever force it is grabs Shepard herself and pulls her into the air.

Shepard felt something force its way into her head. She tried to resist but couldn't. It smashed its way into her brain and filled her mind with visions of fire, visions of blood and visions of destruction. She hears Ashley warn Kaiden not to help her, that's it's to late before the pain of the intrusion becomes to much for her to bare and she loses all other sensation. Then the device explodes throwing her across the platform. The last thing she saw before she fell unconscious was the final image of the Citadel burning as it hangs in space, and a single word; 'Reapers'.


	4. Chapter 4

**Mass Exodus**

 **Chapter 1**

Shepard drifted through a field of formless white. There was no sky, there was no floor, there was only white. She recognised this place. It was her mental plane, where her every thought and feeling could be made manifest. The last time she had entered this place was during her vision quest when she was twelve. She had tried many times to re-enter this place and commune with her previous lives. But doing so required long sessions of deep meditation, which she was terrible at.

Shepard looked around at the void that surrounded her. She had never been good at manipulating this place, but still it should have been full of colour and sound, not blank. That probably meant she was unconscious, not asleep. As she was unconscious that meant she had no ability to alter it either. She was stuck with the white until she woke up. Then she had a splitting headache to look forward to. Wonderful.

Then, something strange happened. A shadow began to cover Shepard from behind. She could see the arms and head that signified it as belonging to a humanoid figure. She tried to turn, but her brain in the real world wasn't working, she had no agency here, no power. All she could do was wait.

Her world shuddered as something spoke. A deep rumbling voice, without gender or inflection, but Shepard could feel it's depth. The voice said " _Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw, The torch; be yours to hold it high._ "

Shepard was confused. Why was it quoting John McCrae? But the first thing she asked was "Who are you?"

" _We are the Dead. Short days ago, We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow._ " Boomed the voice.

"But who are you!?" Demanded Shepard. "Where are you?! How are you in my head!?"

" _Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky, The larks, still bravely singing, fly._ "

A sudden realisation smacked Shepard square in the face. "You're dead. You're the Protheans!"

" _If ye break faith with us who die, We shall not sleep, though poppies grow, In Flanders fields._ "

Shepard talked excitedly, having reached another realisation "And you're quoting John McCrae because that's the only poem I know!" A huge grin spread across her face. "This is amazing! I'm talking to an entire dead civilisation!" Then another piece of the puzzle fell into place. "Dead. A dead civilisation. 'Take up our quarrel with the foe.' Who's your foe?" A silence followed her question, like a deep breath. Then the answer came and Shepard's whole mind shook down to it's core.

" _ **REAPERS!**_ "

 **0**

Shepard flung herself out of bed. And promptly fell sideways onto the floor, smacking her head on the bed opposite.

"Oh my god! Are you alright!?" Cried Dr Chakwas.

Shepard pulled herself up of the floor and blinked at the blurry figure that was the Normandy's doctor. "I need to see the Council." She slurred.

Dr Chakwas pushed Shepard down into a bed and began to examine her "You need to be careful after you've been unconscious for two hours." A few moments later Chakwas gave Shepard a clean bill of health. "Except for that brand new bump on your head." Said the doctor while passing her a cold pack.

"You gave us quite a scare there Shepard." Commented the voice of Captain Anderson. He turned to Chakwas and gave her a signal to leave the two of them in private.

Shepard blinked the after-glare of Chakwas' medical torch out of her vision, then looked at Anderson. "I need to speak to the Council." She told him.

"We're on our way to the Citadel now. If what Lieutenant Alenko and Gunnery Chief Williams said is accurate, we need to inform the Council of Saren's betrayal."

It took Shepard a few moments to catch on to what Anderson was saying. Then she remembered the man on the loading dock, and what he'd claimed to have seen.

"I'm not talking about the Citadel Council." She told him, rubbing the bump on her head "I need to speak to the Council of Nikaea."

Anderson sighed "At any other time I would take you, or at least give you a short period of leave. But right now I need you to give the Council your testimony regarding Saren."

"I've heard about Saren." Muttered Shepard "I've heard he hates Humans"

Anderson nodded "And now he's gone rogue, allied with the Geth and is taking matters into his own hands."

"Matters?" Said Shepard confused.

"He thinks the Human race is expanding to fast, and taking over the galaxy." Explained Anderson "But whatever his plans are they involved that beacon."

Shepard interrupted Anderson "Before I lost consciousness the beacon gave me some kind of vision."

"A vision of what?" Asked Anderson.

Shepard shook her head "I can't tell. It involved destruction, and something called the Reapers." Anderson nodded "And I think that there's more in my subconscious."

"How can you tell?"

"Because when I was knocked out. I saw the Protheans, or their ghosts." She explained.

Anderson rubbed his forehead, his confusion clear on his face "Their ghosts?"

Shepard rubbed her neck "Well not their ghosts exactly. But I think the Prothean beacon somehow downloaded a whole bunch of information into my brain. And I'm interrupting it as if it were the memories of a former Shaman."

"Are you saying that you spoke to the Protheans?" Asked a dis-believing Anderson.

Shepard sighed in exasperation "No, it's more like... like... Oh you wouldn't understand. No offence." She said before adding "Sir." quickly.

Anderson laughed "None taken. I don't pretend to understand Shamans."

Shepard laughed with him before becoming serious again "That's why I need to talk to the council of Nikaea. They'll help me understand this vision."

"But first we have to inform the Citadel Council about Saren." Said Anderson with finality "We should be approaching the Citadel now. Head up to the bridge and tell Joker to bring us into dock."

 **0**

Shepard stepped out of the infirmary and immediately walked into Kaiden and Ashley Williams. Ashley looked happy to see Shepard up and about. Kaiden looked relieved.

"Commander." Both of them greeted. But it was Kaiden who continued by asking "How are you feeling?"

"Like I got blown up." Laughed Shepard "And my brain got scrambled, but apparently everything is fine."

"I feel like I should apologise." Said Kaiden quietly "If it wasn't for me you wouldn't have gone near that thing."

Shepard waved it away "I'm sure that if you knew the strange alien device was going to lift someone up and download strange stuff into their head you wouldn't have gone near it." Shepard laughed before turning dead serious "Would you?"

Kaiden gaped for a moment before Ashley stepped in "Of course he wouldn't." One quick punch to the arm later and Kaiden lost his 'rabbit in the headlights' expression.

"Well..." Said Kaiden "I've got to prepare our gear for the Citadel." Then he walked away with as much dignity as he could manage.

"I shouldn't tease him." Giggled Shepard as she began to walk towards the bridge.

Ashley nodded as she followed. "Did you know I've been transferred to the Normandy?" She asked.

Shepard smiled "You deserve it. You're a good soldier."

"It's actually quite fortuitous." Said Ashley quietly.

"Why."

Ashley turned to Shepard and stopped walking. Slowly she pulled up her sleeve to reveal a small tattoo. It was of a hand holding an eye.

Shepard turned to Ashley and said quietly " _Nos sunt in tenebris._ "

Ashley responded " _Sed lumine._ It will be my honour to assist you Shaman." Before she pulled down her sleeve and left Shepard alone on the stairs. 'Well that was unexpected' thought Shepard.

 **0**

"This is an outrage!" Yelled Udina at the three Citadel Councillors. They watched impassively in hologram form as Udina grew red with rage.

Shepard, Anderson, Kaiden and Ashley watched as Earth's appointed ambassador made a spectacle of himself by shouting at the Council. But they did sympathise with the poor man.

"The Council would act if the Geth had attacked a Turian colony!" Continued Udina.

"With all due respect, The Turians don't found colonies on the borders of the terminus systems ambassador." Said Valern, in a voice laced with condescension.

Udina was about to launch into another tirade but Tevos, the Asari councillor, spoke before Udina could interrupt "Humanity was well aware of the risks when you went into the traverse."

Udina was interrupted once again, but this time by a person who had just entered the room as oppose to one of the three holograms before him.

"We had little choice but to take such risks." Pointed out an incredibly old man, dressed in long black robes. He could barely support his own weight, having to lean on a tall wooden staff just to avoid falling over. He was flanked by a pair of armed guards wearing gold plated armour. He was a Shaman, and the two guards were members of the Illuminate. The aged Shaman continued "You have given us nowhere else to colonise."

While all the Humans bowed to the new arrival Sparatus spoke for the first time "Would you rather have us break previous treaties just to give a new race an easier time." Shepard noticed Tevos give Sparatus a sideways glance. It contained just a hint of annoyance.

The Shaman spoke slowly, his voice cracking with age "No, but acting like it is our own fault for getting attacked is like blaming a man for sinking his own boat, after you have failed to fix the leaks he warned you about."

Sparatus literally growled before asking "Are you saying it's our fault that the Terminus Systems are so lawless?"

The Shaman gave a confused look "No councillor. I'm talking about boats."

"Back to the topic at hand." Said councillor Tevos before Sparatus could explode with rage.

"Yes." Agreed Udina "What are you going to do about Saren? Even the Council cannot ignore a rogue Spectre."

"The Council will not ignore a rogue Spectre." Assured Valern "But he is innocent until proven guilty, and we will not discuss the matter before the C-Sec hearing."

The Councillors closed communications, leaving Udina with Anderson, an old Shaman, Shepard and her small squad. "Anderson." Began Udina "I see you brought half your crew with you."

"I'm not sure that three people constitutes half of his crew." Chuckled the older Shaman.

Udina rounded on the old man "Shaman Grant, while I appreciate your advice. I do not appreciate you interrupting me while I'm talking to the Council, nor do I need you to fight my battles for me."

"I do apologise Ambassador. I simply came here to speak with Shaman Shepard." Offered Shaman Grant.

"Well the 'Shaman' has certainly jeopardised her chances at becoming a Spectre." Grumbled Udina.

Grant shot a disproving glance at Shepard before stepping away, motioning for her to follow. Shepard followed Grant to the edge of the balcony while Udina and Anderson continued to argue quietly.

"So." Began Grant "A Spectre. That would be a great leap forward for you."

Shepard coughed quietly "Yes elder, it would."

Grant continued to look over the Presidium. "Remind me, it is the mandate of the Spectres to defend the sovereignty of all Citadel races? Is it nor?"

"Yes." Answered Shepard cautiously.

Grant turned to Shepard. "You are a Shaman, Clara. You are the latest in a long line of people who's singular role, has been to guide Humanity to a brighter and better future."

"Are you worried I'm going to stop caring about Humans?" Asked Shepard, with a hint of offence.

"Of course not." Laughed Grant "But I am worried about what will happen when you are asked to choose between Humanity, and everyone else. There will be no right answer."

Shepard didn't laugh. She looked down and studied her feet for a moment. "I hope I never have to."

Grant sighed "You will." He told her with certainty. "But simply remember this Clara. You are a person first, A Shaman second."

"I know." There was a brief pause as Shepard considered Grant's words. "There's something the Council of Nikaea needs to know about."

"I know. That's the reason I'm here now." Shepard gave him a confused look "The Illuminate contacted me."

Shepard looked over to Ashley, who was currently watching Anderson and Udina discuss the situation. "I imagine they did."

"You had some kind of vision?" Pressed Grant.

"Something spoke to me, inside my mind. But they only used lines from In Flanders Fields."

"They?" Asked Grant. "Who are They? What did They say?"

"I think they're the Protheans. And they told me that they were all killed by something called the Reapers."

Grant smiled "I don't recall the word 'reaper' in Flanders Fields." Shepard blinked "That leads me to suspect they weren't speaking using a poem. They were speaking using the voice that they can relate to the most. That of John Mc'Crae."

Shepard pondered this for a moment before her face lit up in comprehension "Wait! I was John Mc'Crae?"

"I don't know." Said Grant knowingly "I suggest you meditate upon this. Not only this but your vision as well. The answers you seek are in here." He pointed to Shepards forehead "You only need to unlock them."

"I'm not very good at meditation." Confessed Shepard.

Grant gave her a disapproving look "If you had kept up with your practise you would be quite capable."

"You sound like my mentor." Mumbled Shepard.

"After a while, all Shamans sound the same." Grant told her "I will tell the Council of Nikaea about your vision. Once you have more knowledge, inform us. And if action can be taken, we will act."

"Thank you elder." Said Shepard with sincerity.

Grant sighed "But to convince the Alliance you will need more evidence than simple visions. But your fellow Shamans and the Illuminate will help you with that."

Shepard gave a small bow and Grant turned to leave. He was confronted by an angry looking (so normal looking) Udina. "I hope you will not be interfering with the hearing by turning up uninvited Shaman Grant."

"Actually I was just leaving, to leave the Citadel entirely. I will be going to Earth for a few days." Grant told him before walking past Udina and leaving the room.

Udina turned to Shepard and her two companions "You and your team can meet us in the Council chambers, I'll make sure you have clearance." He told her before turning away, back to Anderson.

"And that's why I hate politicians." Muttered Ashley. Kaiden gave a small laugh and nodded in agreement.

 **0**

"You've got to give me more time! Stall the hearing!" Yelled one Turian to another, standing not three feet away.

"Stall the Council? Don't be ridiculous Garrus, your investigation is over."Answered the other.

Shepard approached them, curious. She had just stepped off the lift into the chambers when she had been greeted by the spectacle. The first Turian, Garrus, turned to Shepard.

"Commander Shepard, I'm Garrus Vakarian. I was leading the C-sec investigation into Saren." He told her.

Shepard stepped forward, a hopeful expression on her face "Did you find anything?"

Garrus grunted "Nothing. Everything he touches turns classified, I cant' find any hard evidence."

Before Shepard could speak again Kaiden spoke to her "I think the council are ready for us Commander." Shepard nodded and gave Garrus an apologetic look before walking off.

As she passed him, Garrus said to her "Good luck Commander, hopefully they'll listen to you." Before he left for the lift.

A few small flights of stairs later Shepard had reached the meeting chamber. She had been informed by Anderson that the hearing was already in session, but she could clearly see that by the presence of a huge hologram of Saren, the accused. She reached the top of the final set of stairs in time to hear Councillor Tevos say "The Geth attack is a matter of some concern. But there is nothing to indicate that Saren was involved in any way."

Councillor Sparatus added "The C-sec investigation found no evidence to support your accusation of treason."

"An eye witness saw him kill Nihlus in cold blood." Replied Udina, indignant.

Councillor Valern spoke next "We've read the reports from Eden Prime. The testimony of a traumatised dockworker is hardly compelling evidence."

"I resent these accusations." Said the Saren hologram. "Nihlus was a fellow Spectre, and a friend." He looked at Shepard "I wouldn't be surprised if the Illuminate killed Nihlus, and had planned to frame me."

Shepard became incensed "Those are slanderous accusations!" She shouted "The Illuminate would never do anything like that!"

Saren sneered "How do we know that? We know virtually nothing about the Illuminate, or their methods. They could have done this so you could more easily become a Spectre. They are the servants of the Shamans after all."

Shepard bristled, about to yell her swear word filled reply when Councillor Tevos started to speak "I think we should all calm down. Many accusations are being levelled, all of them lacking any real evidence. I think we should just admit the painful truth that Nihlus made a mistake, that cost him his life."

"There is still one outstanding issue. Commander Shepards vision, it may have been triggered by the beacon." Interrupted Anderson.

Sparatus snorted in derision but before he could speak Councillor Tevos continued to speak "I understand that Humans place a great amount of stock in the visions and wisdom of it's Shamans. But we must have hard and verifiable evidence to act. And we have found no evidence to suggest that Saren was involved with the Geth in any way. Ambassador, you petition to have Saren disbarred from the Spectres is denied."

"I'm glad to see justice is served." Interjected Saren.

"This meeting is adjourned." Finished Tevos.


	5. Chapter 5

I have been told that people are struggling to keep track of names in this fic. I am assuming they mean the complicated Tau names which I must admit even I am getting crossed eyed at. So I am posting a list of the Tau names as they stand so far.

 **Earth Caste**

Fio'O Fi'rios Firir : Leader of Earth Caste

Fio'La Mu'gulath Orna'shash: Random Earth caste

 **Water Caste**

Por'Vre Ke'lshan Tsu'bur : Leader water caste

 **Fire Caste**

Shas'O Or'es: Fire caste leader

 **Ethereal Caste**

Aun'Vre T'olku Prinol

 **Air Caste**

Kor'O T'olku Fralom – Air Caste Commander

Kor'Vre Ha'Wind

 **Mass Exodus**

 **Chapter Two**

Firir ducked as his wrecked console let loose another burst of sparks and thick black smoke. His stomach gave another horrible rumble and he bent double for the forth time in as many minutes. He wretched as he tried to void his already empty bowels. The few brief moments after they had been dragged through the inter-dimensional tear had been the worst of his life. He could only describe the sensations he felt as violation. He could feel reality become weaker, he could feel the laws of physics become malleable and changeable. At least that's what he thought he felt. In truth he could no more describe what he felt than a plant could describe what it's like to eat a sandwich.

He dragged his vision up towards the series of dials that hung above his ruined console. If it was possible to be even more pale than he was, he would have achieved that feat. He smashed his hand down on a large red button marked 'engine safety failure'.

 **0**

Kor'O Fralom had fainted during the transit. When he awoke felt himself floating, and he knew he was in trouble. That meant the gravity had turned off. He spun easily in the air and saw the Ethereal scrabbling around, trying to right himself.

Fralom drifted over to the flustered Ethereal "Aun'Vre. Please allow me to help." He said as he pulled him down to the rails that had sprung from the floor.

"Why am I floating?" Asked Aun'Vre Prinol, trying to be dignified.

Fralom motioned to a nearby ensign who spun himself towards a nearby console. Then he answered the Ethereal "The computer has deactivated the gravity. So the Air Caste members of the crew may evacuate more easily."

Prinol gave the captain a distinctly worried look "We need to evacuate?" He asked worriedly.

"Almost certainly not." Assured Fralom "The computer has always been a bit over sensitive. I remember when-" He was cut off by a loud klaxon. Out of the floor sprang large red lights, showing the quickest route off of the bridge.

"ABANDON SHIP!" Bellowed Fralom as he practically flung Prinol into the arms of the nearest crew member "ABANDON SHIP!" He bellowed again, adding "ENGINE SAFETY FAILURE! ABANDON SHIP!"

Prinol gave a fearful squeak as he was hustled off by a pair of Kor'Ui pilots as they evacuated themselves, and him. Fralom activated the ships intercom and announced to all the crew that everything was about to go to hell.

 **0**

Firir scrabbled towards the escape pods, pushing the slower members of his team as they slowed down to assist the old Tau. "Don't slow for me!" He shouted "You wouldn't go back into a burning building!"

"Firir!" Shouted a strong voice from behind him. He turned his head round and saw Shas'O Or'es running towards him, flanked by her two bodyguards. "Firir!" She shouted again "What happened?!"

Firir didn't stop his relentless pace as he answered breathlessly "The device somehow fed-back enormous amounts of energy into the engines. There's now so much power coursing through the ship that it's arcing over the burnt out fuses and..." Firir stopped talking at the blank looks he was getting from Or'es. So he simply shouted "The engine is about to explode!"

 **0**

Fralom was the last man off the bridge. He pulled himself through the main door and drifted at speed down the corridor towards the escape pods. As he reached the door he felt someone grab his arm and pull him into the cramped pod. With practised speed he sat in the nearest free seat, strapped himself in and pulled the level that launched the pod.

When Fralom finally took the time to look around him, he saw six members of his bridge crew and the Ethereal Prinol. All bathed in a blood red light, emanating from the single bulb on the pod's door. He didn't smile but he was slightly relieved that this pod was full. He could only hope that the rest of the crew had managed to escape as well.

He looked at Prinol. The Ethereal looked particularly shaken by his experience. Fralom knew that the Ethereal usually oversaw Water and Earth Caste research facilities, he'd never set foot on an active warship before this operation. And while Fralom had never had to actually abandon a ship before, he had taken a part in innumerable drills and was used to moving around in zero gravity.

The Air Caste captains ruminations were interrupted by an artificial voice announcing "Six seconds to ship detonation."

"Brace for impact!" Shouted Fralom as he steadied his feet against the bulkhead opposite him. A brief moment later he felt a wave of energy crash into the tiny craft. Then the light went out.

 **0**

"Brace for impact!" Shouted Kor'Vre Ha'wind. The bride crew of _The Raised Spear_ immediately did so, grabbing rails and consoles for support. They all looked away as _The Waking Tide_ exploded. A rough sphere of pure white energy ripped the ship to pieces, sending fragments of hull flying towards the other two Tau ships. They impacted harmlessly on their gravity shields, causing sighs of relief on both ships.

Kor'Vre Ha'wind was the first to get his wits back and ordered "Prepare for rescue operations!" He was answered with a chorus of 'Yes Kor'Vre' from his crew. "Prioritise damaged and un-powered pods!"

 **0**

"Are you sure you should be doing that?" Asked Shas'O Or'es as she watched Fio'O Firir fiddle about with the emergency light in their escape pod. As soon as the blast wave had hit, it had gone out. A few moments later Firir had declared 'I'm not waiting for the flyboys in the pitch black', had pulled out a screwdriver with a small torch and begun to work on getting the light back on.

The torch was currently held between his teeth, so when he answered it was "I fow fot I'm foing."

Or'es gave him an annoyed look "What?"

Firi pulled the torch from his teeth, but kept it aimed at the innards of the light and said "I know what I'm doing." before replacing the torch and continuing to screw and unscrew various wires.

"Shouldn't you be getting the oxygen back on?" Asked one of Or'es' bodyguards "We are un-powered, aren't we?"

"No." Answered Or'es with authority "If the power was off oxygen masks would have fallen from the ceiling. The light went off to conserve power."

Just then Firir gave a small 'ha' of triumph and the light flickered on. "Now we can wait for rescue in some semblance of comfort." He announced.

At that moment everyone in the pod jumped as a loud clang resounded around them. Then an automated voice announced "Stay calm, you are under rescue."

Or'es gave Firir an amused look. "I stand by my decision." He told her.

 **0**

It was almost an hour later that the leaders of the Caste's were finally gathered in the meeting room on _The Raised Spear_. Some more worse for wear than others. Aun'Vre Prinol had managed to find his strength again and was giving an image as a pillar of strength. Or'es gave the impression she found the destruction of a whole ship a minor inconvenience rather than a disaster. Por'Vre Tsu'bur had defiantly taken the experience the hardest, he was still visibly shaking as he tried to maintain his composure. Or'es supposed that he had never been on a ship before, let alone a ship that had decided to explode.

After Fralom had stopped conferring with Ha'wind, Prinol cleared his throat. Everyone straightened their backs. Even Tsu'bur noticeably calmed down, seeing the Ethereal acting as a rod of strength for the group.

"Fio'O Firir. What happened?" Asked Prinol.

Firi looked around at the faces of the Caste leaders. He could tell they all blamed him for the disaster. "During the dimensional transit the device fed energy back into the main engines, more energy than the safety features could account for, this energy welded most of the switches shut and..." Once again Firir stopped because he was presented with a series of blank faces. "There was too much energy so everything melted and exploded." He said simply.

"Could it have been prevented?" Asked Fralom.

Firir sighed "Probably not. There was no way for us to predict what the device would do once it was activated. But if we can salvage the data from this attempt we may be able to repeat this experiment with a much greater chance of success."

Prinol nodded sagely before turning to Fralom "First things first. Kor'O Fralom, where are we?"

Fralom looked around nervously. He looked to Ha'wind who shrugged. "We don't know." He answered finally. The room shared silent glances as Fralom paused to gather his thoughts. "We don't recognise any of the planets in this system, and we haven't been able to match any of the visible stars to the ones in our database."

"Can you make a rough guess?" Asked Tsu'bur with some desperation.

Fralom shook his head gravely "But we have two bits of good news. The first is that the remnants of the Ork ship was caught in the gravity well of the second planet in the system, most of it burned up on re-entry. The second is that there's definite proof that a space faring civilisation has visited this system." Fralom motioned to Ha'wind who tapped out a command on his computer tablet.

The lights in the room dimmed down low and a holographic display in the ceiling activated. It displayed a rather elegant looking construction. Which consisted of a set of rings held between two large, curved legs or prongs. Along the top of the construction was a series of tall spires that reminded Firir of the skyscrapers in his home city.

Firir's assistant pushed a data-pad in front of him. He read the information quickly, the other leaders would also be reading this report but he was the only one who could make heads or tails of it. He digested the info and collected his thoughts on the subject.

The rest of the room looked at him expectantly. "Well." He began "It's not made of any material I recognise, somewhere between a metal and plastic. It seems to have some kind of gyroscope based array at the centre, which contains an element I've never seen before. It doesn't seem to have any propulsion system." Firir sucked his teeth "And at the moment it's completely un-powered. Overall, I have no idea what it does, what it's made of or even any idea who made it."

Or'es leaned forward "Could it be Eldar made?" She suggested.

Firir considered this for a moment. "It could be. I've never studied Eldar technology, all examples of it are held in a secure facility. It's not Ork or Gue'la technology. And it obviously doesn't belong to a member of the Empire. I'd say it's a fair bet it belongs to the Eldar. But obviously I can't confirm that."

Prinol nodded "So this could be an Eldar Webway gate?" He asked. Firir gave a shrug, he honestly didn't know. Prinol turned to Tsu'bur "Por'Vre Tsu'bur. You were a member of a diplomatic mission to an Eldar world, can you offer any insight?"

Tsu'bur rubbed his hands to calm himself down "That is true, but the mission was almost fifteen years ago now so my memory may be a bit hazy. I never saw a Webway gate so I cannot confirm if it is or isn't. But I will say that if it is Eldar, this may not be a guaranteed route back to Tau space. The Eldar are fickle and cruel, they'll never help us without a price."

"I'll take that under consideration." Said Prinol. "But at the moment it is our only option. Fio'O Firir could you use this 'Webway gate' to contact the Eldar?"

"If it was active I could try. But I have no idea how to power it up safely I'm afraid." Answered Firir gravely.

"That may not be an issue." Offered Fralom "We have long range scans of the next solar system. We have a very blurry image of what appears to be another Gate. But this one is emanating a large amount of light from it's central ring."

"How long will it take to get there?" Asked Prinol.

Fralom scribbled down a rough calculation "I think we could make it their in roughly fifteen hours if we red lined the engines, call it twenty hours if we stay reasonably within the margins of safety."

Prinol turned back to Firir "Fio'O Firir, are you sure you could use the gate to make contact with the Eldar?"

"I can't make any promises. But if the Gate is active then they must be monitoring it in some fashion. It should be fairly simple to make them at least notice us." Said Firir.

Prinol looked around at the assembled Caste members, the hope on his face filled them new energy and strength "Fralom. Once you have finished finding berths for the crew of _The Waking Tide_ plot a course for the Gate." He ordered.

"With pleasure Ethereal." He grinned back.

 **0**

The sleek Asari ship moved silently through space towards the mass relay. The huge constructions never failed to awe those who saw them, and Mirese Kyra was no exception. The blue light of the relay's Eezo core gave the bridge of the _Thessia's Pride_ an almost ethereal quality, something Mirese found quite beautiful to look upon.

The effect was somewhat ruined by one of the main consoles flashing red. "Malra. Do you have something to report?" She asked the lieutenant in charge of that station.

"We have some kind of gravitational distortion on sensors captain." She told her excitedly "It's moving incredibly fast, but I think might be artificial."

Mirese blinked "Artificial? What makes you think that?"

"It's slowing down." Said Malra. She typed something into a calculator "It should come to a dead halt roughly twenty thousand kilometres above the mass relay."

"Are you absolutely sure?" Asked Mirese.

"Positive." Confirmed Malra with a nod.

Mirese's mind whirred with possibilities. This was potentially an entirely new species, a first contact scenario. And they had a faster than light travel system, that didn't use mass relays. This was huge. "How long till then?"

"Roughly an hour."

The tension on the bridge was palpable, they were all thinking the same thing. How is Mirese going to handle this? Mirese honestly didn't know. But she was smart enough to admit she didn't know, she just needed to do so in a way that didn't cause her crew to lose confidence in her. "I will be in my ready room. Inform me of any changes."

Not one second after the door to her room had slid shut, Mirese began to panic. _'Oh crap oh crap oh crap!'_ She thought _'I can't do first contact, I'm just a patrol captain!'_ She thudded into her chair heavily _'This is suppose to be one of the safest areas in citadel space. How can this have happened to me!'_ She held her head in her hands for a few moments and tried to allow the shock of the moment to ware off. She steadied her breathing, and organised her thoughts. _'Call the citadel.'_

She pulled over her computer, logged in and accessed the secure channels. She'd never had to do this before and was rather exited by the prospect. She sent a simple message that read as follows: 'Potential first contact. Space faring race. Seeking guidance.'

The response was remarkably fast. Just a few, tense minutes later Mirese received a call from the Citadel. When she accepted the video call she did not expect to be greeted by Councillor Tevos.

"Captain Mirese Kyra." She started giving a reassuring smile " Don't worry, we are sending a diplomatic team to your location. But we are confused over here, we thought that system was confirmed to be uninhabited."

"That's the thing Councillor. They aren't from this system. To be honest we aren't even sure that this is actually a first contact scenario." Confessed Mirese.

Tevos narrowed her eyes in confusion "What do you mean?"

Mirese sighed "We've picked up a huge gravity field moving towards this system, and my science officer assures me that it must be artificial because it's slowing down."

Tevos considered this for a few moments before speaking again "I'll make the diplomatic team aware of this, but they'll still be entering that system." Tevos was about to end the transmission when she stopped and looked at Mirese with hard eyes "Wait. Do you mean, you think they're travelling from one system to another without using the mass relay?"

"We can't think of another explanation. Unless someone has fitted breaks to an asteroid." Joked Mirese uneasily.

Tevos leaned in close to the screen and spoke quietly "I don't need to tell you how much of an impact this could have on the galaxy. If you contact the aliens before the diplomatic team arrive you have to make a good impression on behalf of the Asari. This could be a huge leap forward for our people."

Mirese gulped nervously.

 **0**

Aun'Vre Prinol and Kor'O Fralom watched as Ha'wind expertly directed his bridge crew. Fralom wished he was commanding them at this critical juncture, but this wasn't his ship. He had been made admiral of the fleet officially. But given the 'fleet' now consisted of two ships he supposed it was a bit of a pointless position he now occupied. And he knew that as soon as they got back to Tau controlled space he would be placed under arrest and court martialed for the loss of _The Waking Tide_.

"Admiral." A voice called.

It took Fralom a moment to register that the person was talking to him. "Yes, Kor'Vre Ha'wind." He responded.

"We have deactivated the gravity drive, we will be firing retro thrusters in a few moments." The captain told him.

"Understood. Place _The Raised Spear_ in a defensive position ahead of _The Gathered Fruit_ and await further instructions."

Ha'wind nodded crisply before giving a flurry of orders to his crew. Fralom felt the ship shudder as the huge retro thrusters tried to arrest the impressive momentum of the ship. The main screen flashed into life, showing the gate in all it's glory. The spinning core amazed Fralom and Prinol with it's strange, mechanical beauty. The blue light reminded Prinol in particular of the sky on Tau.

"Sir." Said Ha'wind "We have a small ship off the starboard bow of the gate. It doesn't match any known ship patterns."

"How small?" Asked Prinol "Could it be Eldar."

Fralom looked over the information displayed on his console "It's only six hundred meters or so long. And as to whether it's Eldar I couldn't say. I've never seen an Eldar ship."

Prinol considered this for a moment before waving to catching the attention of Ha'wind "Hail them captain." He ordered "Lets see who we're dealing with."

Ha'wind nodded towards the communications officer who typed out a long command into his computer. A few moments later he reported "They have accepted digital handshake, visual components compatible. Visual contact in three... two... one."

The switched to a new image. That of a blue skinned woman with, instead of hair, a series of tentacle like fringes. She gave a very nervous smile before talking in a sort of lyrical language with a soft voice.

Prinol nudged Fralom. "Is that an Eldar?" He asked quietly.


	6. Chapter 6

**Mass Exodus**

 **Chapter 3**

Shepard stomped down the steps. "So eye-witness testimony counts for nothing huh." She muttered angrily.

Captain Anderson put a calming hand on her shoulder. "Saren is the Councils golden boy. They were never going to rule against him without serious evidence. We just have to find it." Shepard turned to Anderson and gave him a questioning look.

"It has to exist somewhere." Offered Kaiden.

Shepard thought for a moment "What about Garrus?"

"The Turian?" Asked Ashley "How could he help, he said he _didn't_ have any evidence."

"But he did say he was close, he just needed more time!" Said Shepard excitedly. "How do we find him?" She asked Anderson.

It was Udina who answered "I have a contact in C-Sec. Harkin. He could help you find Garrus."

Anderson scoffed "Harkin's a drunk. He was suspended last month."

Shepard was about to ask where she could find him when Ashley butted in "We shouldn't talk to him. I don't think a Shaman should be seen talking to a low life like Harkin."

"I suppose you're right." Grumbled Shepard "Any other options?" She asked.

"You could try Barla Von." Said Anderson. "Rumour says he's a Shadow Broker agent."

"Shadow Broker?" Said Shepard questioningly.

"An information broker." Grumbled Udina "Well, THE information broker. Buying and selling information is an integral part of galatic politics. And the Shadow Broker is the best."

Anderson interrupted Udina "Any information he has isn't going to come cheap."

"But it's worth a shot." Said an enthused Shepard "Come on." She began to walk down the second set of steps when she noticed that Anderson wasn't following her. She turned back and gave him a questioning look.

Udina answered the unspoken question "Captain Anderson is not taking part in the investigation. His previous history with Saren is making the Council question our motives."

Shepard gaped at Udina. "You can't just-"

"Udina is right." Interrupted Anderson "I'm to personally involved. I should step back."

"Correct." Udina told her. "Captain I have some business to take care of. I'll meet you in my office." He said before leaving, walking past a scowling Shepard.

"What history between you and Saren?" Asked Shepard.

Anderson sighed "This isn't the place to discuss it. We'll talk about it later. I should get going, I have to discuss this with the Alliance Admiralty." Anderson gave Shepard a respectful bow before leaving. Following the same route as Udina. Leaving Shepard with Ashley and Kaiden.

"I suppose we should track down Barla Von." She muttered to Ashley.

Her response was halted by Kaiden asking "What is that Salarian doing to that Keeper?"

 **0**

"I still can't believe that some guy is gonna pay you to scan the Keepers." Laughed Kaiden.

Shepard smiled "I know right. It's awesome."

"Shouldn't we be focusing on Barla Von?" Reminded Ashley as the lift doors opened. The trio stepped off into the Presidium.

"You're right." Said Shepard, turning serious "What do we know about him?"

"Shadow Broker agent." Began Ashley.

Kaiden accessed the extranet with his omni-tool and began to list things off "He's a financial advisor, an information broker, a Volus and his office is just across that bridge."

Shepard smiled "Lets go then."

The three of them walked briskly through the presidium. The shade of the trees reminded Shepard of Earth. Especially the forest she had spent most of her youth in, she could almost hear Shaman Lawrence calling after her as she ran.

"This is it Commander." Said Kaiden, pointing to a door just a few meters away.

"Right, be careful what you say. Information broker and all that." She told them before opening the door and stepping into the office.

She was presented with a Volus wearing a black and white pressure suite. He looked up at them from behind his holo-screen with a pair of harsh unblinking lights that seemed to serve as his eyes. "What's this?" He began "One of the Shaman clan. You are the one called Shepard."

Shepard narrowed her eyes "And you are Barla Von."

"It appears we have both done our research." Said Barla Von in a tone of voice that implied a smile, but Shepard had no idea if he actually was.

"Yes, but I actually knew I was going to see you. Why do you know who I am?" She asked with suspicion.

Barla Von waved dismissively "It is part of my job to keep informed. You are the famous fighting Shaman. The survivor of Akuze-"

"Don't mention that." Growled Shepard.

Barla took a small step back "I am sorry. I meant no offence. But it is an amazing story."

"If you know so much, you must know why we're here." Said Shepard impatiently.

"I can guess. You have just come from the trial of Saren?" Shepard nodded "Then you are looking for information that will implicate him in some fashion."

"That's right." Admitted Shepard "Do you have any?"

Barla rubbed his hands together "I have a small snippet. But it isn't free."

"How much." Sighed Shepard, bringing out her credit chip.

"More than you could afford. I am sure." Said Barla. "But I can give it to you in exchange for a small amount of information."

"About what?"

"The Illuminate." He told her.

"You can't be serious." Exclaimed Ashley.

Barla looked at her "Deadly. Earth clan. Information on the Illuminate is worth an extraordinary amount. They have covered themselves in a shroud of secrecy even the STG struggle to pierce. Even if you gave me the name of a single member. I would happily give you all you wanted and more."

Shepard stared at Barla in disbelief. "You can't expect me to betray the Illuminate like that?"

Barla gave a small laugh "Then I wish you luck finding the proof you need. Good day."

Shepard gaped at the Volus as he returned to his screen. After a few moments he looked up again "Do you have any other business with me?" He asked as Shepard's jaw tightened "If not. I will have to ask you to leave me office."

Shepard spun on her heels and stomped out of the office. When the door had closed behind them she slammed her fist into the nearby wall. "What do we do now!?" She shouted "We're back to square one!"

"Why don't you just tell him something harmless about the Illuminate? I mean aren't they just the guys who stand around Shamans as bodyguards?" Said Kaiden.

"That's just the public face of the Illuminate. The majority of Illuminate acts like a sort of secret police. They just gather information and pass it along to the guys in gold, and they act on the advice of the Council of Nikaea." Shepard gave an embarrassed sigh "But _I_ don't really know anything about the Illuminate." Both Ashley and Kaiden gave her an amazed look. "They don't tell just anybody about how they do things you know. That's the secret of their success, keep everything contained. Only the Council of Nikaea get to know more than anybody else."

"You could tell him that." Said Kaiden reasonably.

Shepard laughed despite the situation "I'm sure that will go down a treat 'Yo Barla, that super secret organisation are super secretive.' I'm not in the mood to get laughed at by a banker."

"Their must be something you can tall him." Said Ashley. Shepard looked at the woman. She couldn't tell if she was saying that as an Illuminate agent, saying it was ok to offer Barla something. Or as someone pretending not be an Illuminate agent. She supposed she could check, all it would take is a quick look with her third eye. But it would be a bit obvious (what with her eyes glowing and all) and Kaiden would wonder what the hell was going on.

Then a small nugget of information snuck into Shepard's brain. She doubted it could really hurt the Illuminate if she told him _that_. She gave Ashley another look. Trying to read the woman as she said "I think I've got something."

Ashley obviously spotted that Shepard had remembered something and said quietly "It's your call. Whatever we do."

Shepard nodded and stepped back into Barla Von's office. He looked up and Shepard swore she could see his grin even through his suit "So Shaman clan. You have decided to give up some information?"

Shepard leaned on his desk, looming over the short Volus. "If I'm gonna tell you this you're going to have to tell me something very amazing."

"You want my information first. I am guessing." Shepard nodded "Very well. Saren and the Shadow Broker used to work together. Then Saren betrayed him. I don't know the details but it was something big."

"What makes you say that?" Asked Kaiden.

"Saren is not an idiot. He knows that betraying the Shadow Broker would be foolish. Unless..."

"It was for something important." finished Shepard.

Barla leaned in close to Shepard. "I have given you some. But not all. Of the information. You will have to give me something if you want more."

Shepard nodded and gave a small sigh "Have you ever wondered how the Illuminate can keep themselves hidden so easily?"

Barla gave a small huff "Everyone wonders that. Nobody knows how they keep the evidence of their activities hidden. An Illuminate server is. To use an Earth clan expression. The holy grail of the intelligence community."

Shepard smiled "And you'll never find one for as long as you look." Barla cocked his head to one side, confused. "They don't use any digital file storage."

"What!" Gasped Barla.

Shepard nodded. "It's true. It's all still done using physical data storage, not a computer in sight."

"Ingenious!" Laughed Barla. "No wonder no one has found anything."

Shepard gave a small laugh before turning serious. "Now. What else can you tell me?"

"The Shadow Broker has hired a Krogan named Urdnot Wrex to track down and kill Fist. The owners of Chora's Den. He should still be on the Citadel. At C-Sec. They often speak to him when he turns up. I believe he has worked with Saren as a mercenary before now."

"How does this help me?" Asked Shepard with a glower.

"I don't have any details. But this all has something to do with a Quarian. Who has information regarding the Geth on Eden Prime." Wheezed Barla.

Kaiden and Ashley exchanged glances, Shepard's face had lit up. They all knew if they could get that information it could prove Saren was involved with the attack.

"Urdnot Wrex." Muttered Shepard. "And you're sure he's in C-Sec?"

Barla shook his head "No. They always drag him in. But they can never get anything to stick."

Shepard looked to Ashley and Kaiden. "We should get going then. Thanks Barla." She called as she left Barla's office.

"Thank you Shepard." Replied Barla Von.

 **o0o**

The Geth ships approached a cloud covered planet. Servers whirred as the huge numbers of programs contained within busied themselves gathering information, comparing tactical reports and configuring platforms for search and destroy. Then. Something rounded the planet. The sheer size of the object caused many programs to declare it a sensor glitch, then a rogue asteroid that had fallen into orbit. But soon the fact that it had to many regular curves and straight edges ruled that out.

Whatever it was, it was artificial. And the Geth sensors could not penetrate the surface.

Messages were sent via relays. Messages were received. Geth were told by Geth, and older machines, to investigate.

One Geth ship peeled off from the pack and landed on the tallest dome of the object. Various platforms and armatures were deposited on the surface and left to perform tests while the ship began a process of mapping the extraordinary construct. Rock drills don't even scratch the surface of the object. So the Geth move onto disc cutters designed to hew through granite. At the cost of three discs the Geth are able to shave off a few fragments of whatever this substance is.

Meanwhile the Geth ship has found an opening in the side of the construct. It leads to a hanger bay that could contain the Citadel five times over. And it contains more ships. Hundreds of them. And due to the efforts of the Geth on the dome, the ship can now scan through the substance of these ships. And the Geth see a ship teeming with life. All of it new.

More messages are sent. Of a virtually indestructible ship, full of new life forms. And of ships, covered with weapons of incalculable power.

Messages were sent back. Take the ship. Capture all you find. Take all the new technology. The Old Machine will visit soon.

 **o0o**

"Honestly." Started Kaiden as the trio walked towards C-Sec "I'm surprised he was so happy with that."

"Knowing how and where people store data is very important to the intelligence community." Explained Ashley.

"That does make sense." Reasoned Kaiden. "But now everyone who buys that info off of Barla Von is going to know that they just need to look for warehouses full of paper files."

Shepard put up a finger to silence Kaiden. "Who said anything about paper?"

Kaiden gave Shepard an odd look "You said-"

"Nu uh." Laughed Shepard "I said physical storage, not paper."

"Huh?"

Shepard whispered conspiratorially "The Illuminate don't keep files _at all._ And I happen know they don't use any kind of digital anything. If they did the STG would have rumbled them years ago."

Kaiden laughed disbelievingly "Then how do they communicate, across star systems?"

"I have no idea." Chuckled Shepard "We're here anyway." She said, motioning to the lift door in front of them.

Shepard leaned against the far wall of the lift as the doors closed. She watched Ashley begin a conversation. "So how are you holding up Lieutenant?" She asked.

"Not too bad. No headaches lately, maybe I'm getting used to the strain." He answered casually.

Shepard butted in, visibly concerned. "Whoa headaches! Is this something I should know about?"

Kaiden gave a small laugh "It's fine. It's a side effect of my implant. It's an L2, I really should upgrade to an L3 but I just keep putting it off."

"This is something to do with you being a biotic?" Asked Shepard.

Kaiden nodded "It allows me to control my abilities."

Shepard looked horrified. "And it gives you headaches!"

Kaiden waved dismissively "More like mild migraines."

"You say that as if it's better!" Yelled Shepard.

Kaiden gave a shy laugh "Maybe I should upgrade. Dr Chakwas could easily take care of it." He muttered unconvincingly. The lift suddenly became very uncomfortable as a slightly horrified Shaman and a slightly embarrassed biotic began to very deliberately avoid each other's gaze.

"So." Began Ashley, trying to break the tension. "What about you Commander?"

"What about me?"

"Your abilities?" Asked Ashley. "Is it true that Shamans can control the weather? Or summon fire? Or... other, things?" She finished slightly embarrassed at Shepard's amused look. Shepard was beginning to suspect that Ashley hadn't been an Illuminate agent for very long.

"Shamans do have some abilities." She explained "But they all fall broadly under the same effect, just applied differently. With practice, a Shaman can control the flow of energy around them." Kaiden seemed to realise the potential of this more than Ashley and he whistled in amazement while Shepard continued. "Really skilled Shamans can add energy or even take it away from the real world."

Now even Ashley's eyes widened in amazement. "That sounds dangerous." She commented.

"It can be." Admitted Shepard "The more energy I try to add or take away, the more strain it puts on me. It could even kill me."

Before Ashley or Kaiden could respond the door opened to reveal the C-Sec offices. The three of them looked down and saw, in the far corner, a large Krogan having a 'discussion' with a group of C-Sec officers.

"I think that might be Wrex." Said Shepard, stating the obvious.

 **0**

"You were seen in Chora's Den making threats." The officer told Wrex. The guy was a good six foot tall, but he was completely dwarfed by the huge Krogan mercenary. This somewhat ruined the intimidating posture he was trying to pull off "Stay away from him."

Wrex responded in a voice like gravel being put through a blender "I don't take orders from you."

The officer once again failed to act intimidating. "This is your last warning Wrex."

Wrex seemed to smile as he leaned into the officers face, causing the poor man to back away a step. "You should warn Fist. I _will_ kill him."

"You want me to arrest you." Asked the officer nervously.

Wrex grinned. "I want you to try."

Shepard contained her giggles while she watched the exchange. The tall Krogan brushed passed the officer and approached Shepard. He barely paid attention to the officer saying "Go on. Get out of here."

"Yes Human?" He asked Shepard.

Shepard looked Wrex in the eyes. The blood red colour only added the intimidating appearance granted by his web of scars."I'm trying to bring down Saren. Barla Von said to talk to you."

Wrex nodded "Barla Von is a wise man. We may share a common goal Human."

"You mean Fist." Said Shepard.

"I've been hired to kill him." Admitted Wrex.

Shepard gave an uncomfortable nod "What does a Quarian have to do with all this?"

"She was on the run." Explained Wrex "She went to Fist to trade information for a safe place to hide. He promised to arrange a meeting between her and the Shadow Broker. Instead he contacted Saren."

"What information did the Quarian want to trade?" Asked Shepard.

Wrex shook his head "I never bothered to ask. Listen, the Quarian is probably being held at Fist's bar. If you help me kill him I'll let you have her. She's not my problem."

Shepard became stone faced "I can't help you kill someone in cold blood."

Wrex snorted "Well if you're going into Chora's Den I'm coming with you. We'll never get through the guards separately, but we could easily do it together."

Shepard eyed the Krogan warily "I'm not gonna help you kill Fist Wrex."

Wrex shrugged, an action that somewhat reminded Shepard of a bear standing on it's hind legs. "Well if I see the Quarian, I'll point her in your direction."

Shepard grimaced. She knew Wrex was right. The three of them might be able to break into Chora's Den. But if she failed it would not only look bad for her as a Shaman, but for the Alliance in general. But if they were able to get in and rescue the Quarian she would definitely be vindicated in her decision to storm a bar while loaded for bear.

"Wrex! Wait." She called. The Krogan turned back and gave a small smile. "We'll help you. But I am not letting you kill Fist."

Wrex's smile became a teeth baring grin.


	7. Chapter 7

**Mass Exodus**

 **Chapter 4**

Mirese could barely containe her wonder as she saw the two ships approach. Each one had a similar sweeping design that Mirese decided she rather liked. But what amazed her was the scale of them. They were huge. The smaller was four kilometres long, which was two km smaller than the longer. But the smaller was clearly a war ship. Mirese had counted twelve turrets of various sizes on it's surface and (according to the computer) six monstrous rail guns.

And none of it used any Mass Driver technology.

"They are hailing us." Announced her communications officer. Mirese panicked internally. The trained diplomats weren't here yet, and she worked for the space coast guard. She nodded dumbly. "Writing compatibility script. We are accepting digital handshake. Visual components syncing."

The main screen flashed into life. It showed a stark white control room. A number of aliens were all busy at their holographic panels. But Mirese was concentrating on the two who were standing on the central plinth.

The first was much taller then the second. But both were blue with facial features rather like a Human or an Asari, but flatter, smoother. And they lacked a nose. It was replaced by a slit down the centre of their face. The taller of the two was incredibly thin making him look somewhat oddly proportioned. The shorter was wearing a long set of billowing robes that hid his frame but Mirese assumed he was as thin as his associate because every other person on their bridge was that thin.

The shorter nudged the taller and muttered something. Mirese took that as her que. "Hello." She began. She talked slowly, miming what she said as best she could. "I am Captain Mirese Kyra of the Citadel safety patrol fleet." She took a calming breath and gave her best smile. "I have the honour of being the first to greet you on behalf of the Citadel council. I hope that this first contact is the start of a great friendship between our two peoples."

The two aliens seemed to be confused. That was understandable given they had no idea what she was saying. The link should be giving Asari subtitles to everything she was saying. That combined with the Asari dictionary they had sent over should allow their computer to form a translation matrix. Apparently it was taking some time.

There was a bustle of activity in the alien control room. Someone passed the two leaders some sort of microphone connected to a data pad, which the shorter one spoke into. "Thank you. We had a brief malfunction with our translator, but it appears to have fixed itself." He laughed and gave a friendly smile. "I am Ethereal Aun'Vre T'olku Prinol. And I greet you on behalf of the Tau Empire." He exchanged a few words with his tall companion before addressing Mirese again. "I wonder if we could negotiate passage back to Tau space using your web way?"

 **0**

"She seems rather confused Ethereal." Commented Fralom, as he watched the Eldar gape like a fish.

Prinol looked down at the data pad. "Perhaps the translator has malfunctioned again." He wondered aloud.

The Eldar spoke to them again. "It appears our translation matrix is having some trouble. We don't recognise the term web way." She looked at them in a way that reminded Prinol of a lost Kroot puppy.

"Excuse me." Said Prinol politely. He took another data pad out of his robes and skim read the report Por'Vre Tsu'bur had compiled. He let Fralom finish introducing himself and the ships before he spoke again. "There is nothing wrong with your translator captain. It appears that The Citadel isn't on our list of Craftworlds, so you may have a different name for the web way."

Mirese took a small breath before answering Prinol. "I'm afraid I've never heard the term Craftworld before either."

Prinol looked down at his pad again. His face crinkled up in annoyance, before a look of revelation struck him. "May I ask. What race do you belong to captain?"

Mirese's smile had long since given way to a look of profound confusion. But she managed to answer with a confident tone. "I am an Asari. My species is one of the founders of the Citadel Council, along with the Salarians. The other member species are the Turians. We are a coalition that promotes peace and co-operation across the galaxy." She finished with a proud smile, that faded at Prinol and Fralom's looks of confusion.

"It sounds like a worthy institution." Began Prinol "But so far as I am aware, the Tau Empire is rather expansive. And it has never come into contact with any Citadel Council."

Mirese floundered "Well, uum, I. I..."

An ensign whispered into Fralom's ear "The gate has powered up. We detect another ship entering the system."

On the Asari ship the communications officer told Mirese; "The diplomatic team has arrived."

"Oh thank fuck." Muttered Mirese, the tension visibly leaving her body. She turned back to Prinol and Fralom. "A team of trained diplomats have entered the system via the Relay. I will leave you in their capable hands."

Fralom whispered something into Prinol's ear before disappearing off screen. "Yes." Said the Ethereal "It would be our honour to host your diplomatic party. I will put you in contact with Por'Vre Ke'lshan Tsu'bur. He is our chief of administration, he will be able to arrange for any dietary or atmospheric requirements."

Mirese smiled "And I shall transfer the details of the XO on the..." She checked the name of the diplomatic ship " _Rising Spirit_." Because of course it was a Turian ship. Their last first contact went so well didn't it.

Prinol's smile became a little forced as he was addressed by someone off screen. Mirese couldn't quite hear what was being said but it seemed to be rather distressing news. "Very well." He said. "I shall leave the data transfer in the capable hands of our communications officer. I hope to see you soon."

"You to." Answered Mirese just before Prinol cut the communications.

 **0**

Mirese almost ran up to the diplomatic team as they exited their shuttle on the flight deck of _Thessia's Pride_. "Oh thank goddess you're here!" She bowed respectfully to the leader of the diplomatic group. Another Asari, significantly older than herself. She was joined by a Turian and a Salarian.

The Asari diplomat bowed back. "Calm down Captain." She said with a smile. "All things considered you did very well."

Mirese did indeed take a calming breath before responding. "Thank you Matriarch. But I am happy you are here to take over."

"Yes, well." She commented with a small smile. "I am Ressi Setora. May I introduce Anysus Bode of the Turian Hierarchy and Dr Supant Vumino, from the Salarian Union."

Mirese bowed to them. "I am honoured to meet you all."

"Thank you for hosting us." Said Dr Vumino. He was tall, even for a Salarian. With smooth, pale green skin. It was clear to Mirese that he took care of himself, that he strived for a pristine appearance. "How much can you tell us about the 'Tau', I believe you called them."

Mirese sighed. "We had better go to the briefing room." She told them, motioning towards the door.

A few minutes later the four of them had made themselves comfortable, sitting around a rectangular table with a holo display. Currently it displayed a rough schematic of the lead Tau ship _The Raised Spear_. Complete with glowing lines, showing where the major power lines were."

Anysus, the Turian, inspected the hologram. She was short, but incredibly stocky with muscle piled upon muscle. She was old, but still (comparatively) the youngest member of the diplomatic team. Mirese could tell from the scars on her cheek that she'd served in the military at some point (not a surprise) but it was clear she had never abandoned the strict exercise regime.

"Well that's a war ship." She said jovially. It was now that Mirese realised he had a very grandmotherly look about her.

"Cannot blame them for using an armed ship to explore new space." Said Vumino reasonably.

Anysus nodded in agreement "Correct. But that ship isn't just armed, it's a war ship. There's no fat on it at all." She pointed to a blip in the left 'wing' "And if I'm correct that's a redundant power system. That only links with the weapons."

Vumino waved dismissively. "We can't be sure that-"

"That's just one of six." Insisted Anysus.

Ressi sighed. "What does this actually tell us?"

Anysus shrugged. "Not much really. But I'm just pointing out that an 'empire' has gone exploring with a war ship. They may not have wanted a fight, but they defiantly expected one."

"I will admit." Said Ressi. "That they term themselves as an empire does worry me."

At this point Mirese quietly excused herself, but before she could leave the room Ressi called her name. "Could you please stay."

"Why?" She asked, confused.

Ressi gave a friendly smile. Mirese decided she didn't like this, at all. "We talked about this. And we have decided we would like you to lead the discussion." Ressi told her.

"Errrm. What?"

Vumino also smiled. "We reviewed the footage of your interaction with the Tau. You quickly and easily developed a natural rapport with them while answering their questions."

Anysus gave a nod. "And with the exception of the comment about how expansive their empire is you handled everything very well."

"You seem to have a natural talent for diplomacy captain." Added Ressi. "And it would aid us greatly if the initial point of contact, a friendly face if you will, continued the first contact procedure."

Mirese stepped back, she held up her hands defensively "I work for the SPF. I just help lost merchant shipping. I can't do this."

"You don't _think_ you can do this." Corrected Ressi. "Whereas I _,_ _know_ you can do this."

"And we'll be there to help you all the way." Added Vumino. "We will prepare you for every eventuality."

Anysus clapped Mirese on the shoulder. "I've looked at your service record. You've repeatedly shown the ability to keep calm under pressure, you've shown the ability to keep your subordinates calm under pressure, you've assisted at least one ship of almost every race in the galaxy and you have never failed to calm it's crew and captain, and help fix the problem in a safe and orderly manner. Almost every skill you have developed as a captain can be transferred to the situation at hand."

"You have a knack for dealing with people." Asserted Ressi.

Mirese clenched and un-clenched her hands. She thought deeply about the oppurtunity she was being given. "And what if I fuck it up massively?"

"Then we'll take the blame." Ressi assured her. "We'll chalk it up to bad translators." She joked. "But seriously, this is hardly a galaxy shaking peace treaty. We're just going over for an exchange of cultural information. A glorified dinner party." Ressi laughed and smiled when Mirese joined her. "Don't worry. The complicated bits _will_ be handled by trained and experienced diplomats."

"And you mustn't forget." Said Vumino, knowingly. "They will be trying just as hard as us not make any mistakes."

 **0**

"You cannot allow the Kroot to be present for this first contact!" Yelled Tsu'bur. He was almost purple with open fury. His voice echoed through the meeting hall. Ordinarily Tsu'bur would be airing his grievances quietly, diplomatically. But they were the only two people in the hall, the usual gaggle of aids and assistants were missing. It had been agreed there simply wasn't enough room around the meeting table for all five caste leaders and the four members of the aliens diplomatic team.

Or'es, the subject of his fury, was distinctly unimpressed by his shouting. "I informed Korless of the situation we are in, including the first contact scenario. He requested that he be included in all future meetings."

"But why did you say yes!?" Bellowed Tsu'bur.

Or'es gave the water caste administrator a withering look. "Because they are part of the Empire, and they deserve to be represented."

"You are correct of course Shas'O." Sounded the unmistakable voice of Aun'Vre Prinol. Or'es turned to see the Ethereal and Kor'O Fralom walking towards them. "But you could have represented them surely."

There was a small voice in the back of Or'es' head that said 'of course not, they're Kroot and I'm a Tau'. This voice was quashed by Prinol's very presence. "I suppose I could have tried." Or'es sighed. "But I have already told Korless he could be present."

"Well you'll simply have to tell Korless that he can't." Scoffed Tsu'bur.

The hair on Tsu'bur's neck stood on end as a clicking, scraping voice behind him asked "Tell me what?"

Tsu'bur spun around slowly and looked up into the metaphorically sharp eyes, and literally sharp beak of Korless, the Kroot shaper. "That you, cannot... be. Here, here for..." Tsu'bur began to sweat under the hard gaze of the Kroot warrior. At almost ten foot tall Korless was the just about the tallest person on the ship. Whenever he moved the whipcord muscles of his body rippled with potential energy.

"I cannot be here for...?" Said Korless insistently.

Tsu'bur was rescued by Prinol. "We were discussing whether you should be allowed to sit in on this meeting. But I insisted that you be allowed. After all, who else is going to represent you?"

Korless looked over to Or'es who could only nod weakly. The Kroot turned his gaze over to the Ethereal who gave a thin smile. Korless' eyes narrowed as he examined Prinol. He clicked his beak and walked away towards the table. The rest of the group followed him to the table and took their respective places, sitting in seats with their caste symbol carved into the backs. Korless chose to sit on his haunches on Or'es' left.

"Where is Fio'O Firir?" Asked Prinol.

The group turned to the Earth caste chair, which was indeed empty. Tsu'bur pulled out his data pad and scrolled through his messages. "He and his team are studying the data packet we were sent."

"He should be here." Said Prinol. He said it in calm way such as that everyone knew he was losing his patience. "Tell him to get here as soon as possible."

Tsu'bur nodded and tapped a message into his pad summoning Firir to the meeting.

 **0**

Mirese took yet another deep calming breath, going over the information she had read and digested during the briefing. All of it was simple stuff about the Citadel and the three main Citadel races. All of it she knew. But she was still incredibly nervous. The Asari shuttle wobbled slightly as it entered the Tau hanger bay, the mass effect field of the small ship momentarily fighting the artificial gravity of the larger Tau vessel.

Ressi leaned over to Mirese. "You'll be fine." She told her with a smile.

The shuttle clumped as it hit the deck of the ship. The back door opened to reveal another of the tall Tau flanked by a pair of shorter, stockier men (or women) wearing thick, ochre coloured body armour. Most notably a shield like plate covered their left arm. They each carried a long rifle. Which they held, resting against their shoulder. Anysus nudged Mirese, who took a final deep breath, and exited.

The Tau stepped forward. "Welcome aboard _The Raised Spear_. I am Kor'Vre Ha'wind. The captain of this ship. It is a pleasure to meet you in person." He placed his hand on his chest and bowed low. Mirese repeated this gesture, as did her three companions. Then, following the advice of Ressi, she gave a similar, traditional, Asari greeting.

"It is a pleasure to meet you as well captain." She said with a smile. "May I introduce Ressi Setora, Dr Supant Vumino and Anysus Bode." The three diplomats bowed in turn as they were intoduced.

"It is a pleasure to meet you all as well." Ha'wind smiled before motioning past him towards the main corridor. "It is my happy duty to lead you to the meeting hall."

The four diplomats politely followed Ha'wind as he led them through the ship. First to a large lift, which he explained was for moving large equipment and replacement parts through the ship. The trip in the lift was accompanied by an uncomfortable silence as neither party truly knew what to say to the other.

Anysus took the time to inspect the equipment of the soldiers escorting them. The rifles were very long, at least four feet by his estimation. He supposed the length would make it more accurate at range, but he couldn't see what kind of ammunition it might fire. Both the guns and the armour they wore seemed to be made from the same smooth, but sturdy looking material.

Soon the party came to a set of double doors. Each one had a set of five symbols carved into its gleaming white surface. Dr Vumino turned to their Tau companions and back to the doors before asking Ha'wind "What significance to these symbols hold?"

"I will allow the Ethereal to explain." Said Ha'wind with a smile. Then he flung open the doors to reveal four Tau of various size and shape.

And beside the table, sat on his haunches was a large alien, completely different from the Tau. It was thin and wiry with dark green skin, except for the patches on it's front which were a pale olive. In various places all over it's skin were patches of short, black quills. But stretching out the back of it's head was a huge set of enormous quills, most of which had small bands of metal wrapped around them. And underneath it's small beady eyes was a huge, sharp beak.

It turned to look at them and Mirese could almost feel it deciding how to cook her. She swiftly decided she was being stupid, it was just her nerves acting up. It probably wasn't helping that it was wearing a short cloak of crudely stitched animal skins.

 **0**

The Tau all looked up as the doors to the meeting chamber opened. And in stepped Ha'wind, two fire caste guards and four aliens. The first two they recognised as Asari, the other two they didn't. The first was taller than the other three, and longer limbed. It's face was dominated by a huge pair of dark red eyes. It's skin was smooth and coloured a mottled brown. It's head was capped by a pair of horns that jutted straight up.

The final alien was shorter than the other three, but looked the most dangerous. Covered in a stone grey carapace with various small ridges and fringes. With a pair of small, sharp eyes darting around taking in every detail.

Aun'Vre Prinol leaned over to Tsu'bur. "Where is Firir?" He asked quietly, through gritted teeth.

"I don't know." Admitted Tsu'bur nervously. "I have sent him five messages."

Prinol could only nod as the four aliens stepped up to the table. He stood and bowed, as did every Tau present. "Greetings and welcome aboard _The Raised Spear_ it is an honour and a pleasure to have you here." He told them. "I hope your translator implants are able to facilitate communications?"

"Yes. We understand each other perfectly." Answered Mirese before once again introducing her three companions.

Prinol smiled "It is a pleasure to meet you all. I must introduce first myself. I am Aun'Vre Prinol of the Ethereal caste." He motioned to each Tau in turn as he introduced them. "This is Kor'O T'olku Fralom of the Air caste, Shas'O Or'es of the Fire caste and Por'Vre Ke'lshan Tsu'bur of the Water caste. We should be joined by Fio'O Fi'rios Firir of the Earth caste at any moment. But he is our chief engineer so he may be indisposed by any number of problems." Prinol laughed a small dignified laugh. He was interrupted by a small growl. He looked over to Korless who returned his piercing gaze. Prinol turned back to their guests and motioned to Korless, who stood to his full height. "And this is Shaper Korless of Pech. He is the leader of our Kroot contingent, the Kroot race being a member of our empire."

Mirese looked over the Kroot who gave another look that sent shivers down her spine. "We would like to ask you about your Empire. How expansive is it?"

Prinol continued to smile as he explained. "Our Empire is located in what we refer to as the galactic east and covers roughly fifteen major star systems." He either ignored or didn't notice the odd looks that shot between Mirese and Ressi and continued. "We were hoping to ask you about, the Citadel Council I believe you called it. You see we have never heard of the Citadel Council and we have never met anyone who has. And we have been in contact with large galactic polities."

Mirese froze. She remembered being told what to say about this, but it had all evaporated from her head. Ressi gave her arm a small nudge. "Well I'm afraid they are lying to you. It is not uncommon for more advanced civilisations to try and take advantage of those they perceive as less advanced."

Or'es scoffed. "Well if it is a con trick it's an incredibly violent one. The Humans launched an invasion. It was not pleasant."

Mirese turned to Ressi, who's mouth had fallen open in shock.

"Wait." Said Anysus. "The Alliance invaded your sovereign space?" She asked, the shock evident in her voice.

Or'es gave the Turian a confused look. "Alliance? No, the Humans called themselves Imperium of Man."

More looks were exchanged. Ressi was about to say more when the doors behind her slammed open. In ran a short, stocky Tau wearing thick brown robes. He all but sprinted up to the table and almost fell over he was so exhausted.

Prinol stood up and gave Firir a look of fury. "Fio'O Firir this is incredibly rude! I expect you ha-"

"I have to ask these people some questions." He puffed.

"Then you can follow proper channels and-"

"NO!" Bellowed Firir. Prinol was too shocked to be offended as Firir turned to Mirese and her fellow diplomats. "Do you recognise the following terms or names?" He asked them.

"Ork?" They shook their heads.

"Imperium of man?" They shook their heads again.

"Eldar?" No again.

"Psyker?" More shaking.

Firir's head fell into his hands. "Firir." Said Prinol dangerously. "This charade better have a point."

"One more question." He asked quietly. He pushed a pad towards them. On it was a picture. The picture showed a huge purple blotch, suspended in space. Nebulae danced across it's surface like clouds over an ocean. "Do you recognise this image? Humans call it the Eye of Terror."

Mirese looked at the image. She swore she could see faces in the, whatever it was. Her eyes began to water. She didn't want to look at it anymore, but she couldn't turn away.

"Mirese?" Asked Ressi, concerned.

Firir pulled the pad away and put it away in his robes. "I'm sorry." He said. "It can have that effect on people."

"What was that?" Asked Prinol, his voice raw. The image had had the same effect on him.

"Something I pulled from the secure files." He told him. "You don't recognise it?"

They shook their heads yet again. "What was that?" Asked Mirese quietly.

"The Great Wound." Said Korless in a whispering voice. "Visible from everywhere in the galaxy."

"We've never seen anything like it." Said Dr Vumino.

Firir fainted.

They all peered over the edge of the table at him. "Well I hope he wakes up soon." Muttered Tsu'bur. "I want to know what all the fuss is about."

"We're in a different galaxy." Muttered Korless. He was so calm he could have been talking about the weather.

Their was a thud. Tsu'bur had also fainted.


	8. Chapter 8

**Mass Exodus**

 **Chapter 5**

Shepard's rifle whined as she powered it up. The small mass effect field crackled as it snapped into place inside the gun. She, Ashley, Kaiden and Wrex were over twenty meters away and they could still hear the pounding music they were playing in Chora's Den. The other three also powered up their weapons in preparation for storming the bar, having been told by Wrex there would probably be quite a few armed guards protecting Fist.

"Sounds like it's full." Commented Ashley towards Wrex.

The Krogan grunted. "He probably thinks that if it's full of people we won't shoot so much."

"Well I don't intend to shoot any innocent bystanders." Muttered Kaiden.

Shepard gave Wrex a pointed look. "I don't _intend_ to shoot anybody who doesn't deserve it." He said. "But bullets go stray sometimes." Shepard narrowed her eyes. Wrex snorted, annoyed. "You wanna blame someone, blame Fist. He's the one making this so hard."

"Try not to kill anyone unnecessarily." She told him. Wrex just grunted again. "Lets get this show on the road then." She sighed.

The four of them advanced in a diamond, Shepard taking the lead, Wrex in the back. The door to the bar swished open and the dull thud of music became a pounding roar. The club really was full to the brim. The hastily produced banner that hung above the bar was all the explanation she needed. On it, in big black letters were the words 'student night'.

"Fuck it." Ground out Shepard. "We're killing Fist."

Wrex gave a boisterous laugh that Shepard heard even over the music. As did some of the young patrons close to the door. Faces paled and drinks were dropped as they saw three armed and armoured marines and a Krogan mercenary. Shepard didn't wait for them to decide what to do as she barged her way through the crowd.

She looked around the circular room and saw a large Krogan bouncer. She barely had time to swear as he raised his own rifle, but she was quicker. The bouncers barriers flared as a shot rebounded off them. Shepard pumped a few more into him at head height. His barriers collapsed in a dull flash of light. His face exploded into red mist as the next volley of rounds impacted his skull. The music was so loud, the lights were flashing so much no one even noticed.

" _Someone is gonna get hurt real bad in a moment."_ Thought Shepard. Just as two men wielding machine guns stepped out of an alcove and let rip.

A swift kick sent the poor guy in front of Shepard to the floor and out of the line of fire. The Asari girl next to him wasn't so lucky. Her arm was reduced to mincemeat by the hypersonic rounds. She fell into the guy she was dancing with who did not fail to notice her arm was missing. His shouts were lost in the noise of the club, as were the controlled bursts of fire from Shepard as she put down one of the gunmen. The other was flung into the wall behind him by a ball of biotic energy. He slumped down and didn't move again.

Shepard spun on her feet and pointed to the closest speaker unit. Ashley nodded and moved towards the bar while Wrex moved forward towards the alcove that held the entrance to Fist's office. Shepard spun again back to the injured girl. Kaiden had already applied a doze of medi-gel. The girl clung to him and continued to scream. From her clothing (or lack thereof) Shepard guessed she was a stripper.

The music disappeared. And was immediately replaced by screams of pain as the girl stared down at her missing arm.

"EVERYBODY GET THE FUCK OUT!" Bellowed Wrex.

 **0**

Fist held his pistol close as he heard shots in the next room. This wasn't suppose to be happening. A; Wrex was suppose to be on his own. B; The club being full of people was suppose to distract him enough for the guards to kill him. And also; SHAMANS WEREN'T SUPPOSE TO KILL PEOPLE! Then why was there one murdering his guards with a vengeance?

The door to his office opened. Wrex rushed in and levelled his rifle at Fist's head, but didn't fire. Then the two turrets on either side of his desk activated and peppered the Krogan with shots. Shepard ran in and loosed a flurry of shots at the left turret while Wrex simply ran up and kicked the right. Both were soon in various pieces all over the floor.

"I surrender!" Yelled Fist, throwing down his gun.

Shepard stepped up, her face a mask of fury. She was covered in purple blood from the Asari caught in the fire fight. "You know Fist." She growled. "I took a vow not to kill those who didn't try to kill me first. Damned if you don't make me want to break that vow." Fist gulped. "Where's the Quarian?" She demanded. "You tell me and I might not murder you for the very convenient 'student night'."

"She, she wanted to meet the Shadow Broker. So I told her I, I'd set up a meeting." Babbled Fist. "She's meeting some of Saren's men in the ally behind the markets."

"When?" Asked Shepard.

"Soon. I, I don't know exactly." He answered.

Shepard grimaced. "I can't kill you in cold blood Fist. I took a vow that says so." Fist deflated as relief hit him like a truck. "Wrex?"

"Shepard?"

She smiled. "You haven't taken any vows have you?"

Wrex gave a toothy grin. "Not lately."

Shepard turned away. "Just checking." She said before stepping out of the office.

Fist tried to grab her. He was stopped by Wrex as he grabbed a hold of Fist's neck. "NO, you can't do this!" He shouted. "Sha-! ARRG! Aren't suppose to ki-" *BANG*

Wrex followed Shepard out of the office to find her leaning against a nearby wall. "I've never done anything like that before."

"It was for the best." Wrex told her. "If he's willing to endanger people like that, he definitely deserved to die." Wrex clapped her on the shoulder. "I must say Shepard, I didn't think you would have something like that in you."

"Yeah." She muttered.

Wrex followed Shepard as she stepped back into the main bar of Chora's Den. Ashley stalked around the circular room, her rifle at her side, ready to be brought to bear. Kaiden helped a pair of paramedics lift the injured Asari onto a stretcher. The poor girl whimpered as she held her bandaged stump close to her chest. Shepard looked over and sighed before walking to the bar and grabbing a damp cloth.

"I take it Fist isn't leaving his office." Commented Ashley as she walked over. Shepard didn't look up as she wiped the blood off of her front.

"Nope." Grunted Wrex. "Good riddance if you ask me."

"Amen to that." Muttered Ashley. "I mean what kind of ass-hole uses students as a Human shield?"

"They weren't just Human you know." Comments Kaiden. Who had stepped behind the bar the wash his hands. He glanced as Shepard and passed her a clean cloth. Shepard tossed the other into a nearby sink. Purple blood ran out of the soaked material. "You all right commander?"

Shepard spun on her heels. "Let's go find this Quarian!"

 **0**

The four of them crept quickly and quietly through the back alleys of the wards, weapons held at the ready. They came to a stop as they heard voices from around the next corner. Shepard peered out from the shadows and saw a feminine figure in a hood talking to a heavily tattooed Turian. Some way behind him was a pair of what Shepard thought were Salarians, both wearing full suits of body armour.

"Did you bring it?" Asked the Turian, stepping up to the girl.

"Where's the Shadow Broker? Where's Fist?" She asked. Her voice given a mechanical twang by her suit. This was definitely the Quarian they were looking for.

The Turian stepped up close to the Quarian. "They'll be here." He caressed the girls arm and looked down at her legs.

"Right!" Shepard shouted. She stepped out from behind the corner. She was followed Wrex and Ashley. Kaiden hung back, preparing a blast of biotic energy.

The Quarian stepped back as the Turian glared at Shepard. "Who the fuck are you?" As he asked the question he pulled a pistol off of his back.

"Someone who's been through to much bullshit today." She answered, training her rifle on the Turian. "Fist set you up." She told the Quarian.

"I knew I shouldn't have trusted him." She muttered as she pulled out a battered shotgun.

The two Salarians pulled out their rifles and pointed them at Wrex. Who grinned as Ashley pulled a grenade out of her belt. Shepard narrowed her eyes at the Turian who took a tighter grip on his pistol. Which was aimed at Shepard's head.

"You're all under arrest!" Someone shouted. And the world exploded into noise and colour.

The first thing Shepard did was duck, and a round sailed over her head. Somewhere ahead of her a grenade exploded, shredding one of the Salarians. Somewhere behind her Wrex fired his rifle full outo and shouted "Next time bring your A game!" As the second Salarian exploded into a giblets. Shepard pulled energy into herself and concentrated it into her arm. She shot upwards and powered her fist into the Turians face, unleashing the energy. His head burst like a ripe fruit under the assault, covering a nearby crate in blood.

Shepard turned to see a very surprised C-Sec officer holding a smoking pistol. "Wait a second." She said, stunned. "You're Garrus."

Garrus lowered his pistol, confused "Shepard?"

"Shepard?" Asked the Quarian. "As in the Shaman, Shepard?"

Wrex butted in. "You're a Shaman?" He shrugged before muttering to himself. "Well now I don't need to work out how you exploded that guy with one punch."

Garrus stepped up to the group, followed by Kaiden who had stepped out of cover. "Well Shaman or not you're definitely under arrest."

"For what!?" She protested.

Garrus held up his hand and counted off on his claws. "One; Storming a bar with enough guns to storm a fortress. Two; using military grade explosives in a public alleyway, and three; Withholding information concerning the whereabouts of a key witness, who as it turns out was in mortal danger."

"Who was in danger?!" Protested the Quarian. Shepard could almost hear the pout.

Garrus held out a placating hand. "Miss Zorah. With all due respect-"

Ashley interrupted. "Why is it whenever someone says "with all due respect", they really mean ' _kiss my ass_ '."

Wrex barked out a laugh while the Quarian stifled her own giggles.

"I think we should just go to the embassy so we can get all this sorted out." Reasoned Kaiden.

Garrus nodded in agreement. "He's right." He opened up his omni-tool. "I'll get a meat wagon down here to pick up-"

"You are all under arrest!" Shouted a collection of voiced behind them.

"OH COME ON!" Spat Shepard.

 **0**

Councillor Udina looked annoyed. Well he always looked annoyed, but in this particular instance he looked annoyed even by the usual standards of councillor Udina. If the expression currently worn by Udina was on a normal person they would have looked positively apoplectic. But Anderson had known Udina for a long time and as such knew he was just annoyed, very grumpy at worst.

"Shepard." Began Udina. "When I sent you to investigate I expected to have to perform some diplomatic smoothing over." He took a deep, calming breath. "But I didn't expect to have to visit you in prison!"

"This is hardly prison!" Protested Ashley from behind the armoured glass of the C-Sec containment cell.

Udina shot her a look. "You got yourselves arrested which is basically the same thing!"

"Well technically-" Began Anderson.

Udina cut him off. "When I want your opinion captain, I shall ask for it." He turned back to Shepard. Who was in the cell with Ashley. Kaiden and Wrex were in the male branch of the holding area. "Do you have any idea how many favour I had to call in to get you three released."

"Three?" Asked Shepard. "What about Wrex? And Tali?"

Udina sighed ' _bleeding hearts._ ' He thought. "Miss Nar Rayya is currently giving evidence to officer Vakarian. And Wrex, I don't care about. He's just a mercenary."

"But he's the only reason we even got this far!" Grumbled Shepard.

"So he's the reason you stormed a bar. A bar full of students!" Udina was visibly beginning to lose his patience. "Instead of going to C-Sec and informing them of the situation."

"They probably wouldn't have got there in time." Reasoned Ashley.

Udina exploded. "THEY HAVE A THREE MINUTE RESPONCE TIME!"

Anderson put a calming hand on Udina's shoulder. He turned to Shepard and gave sympathetic sounding sigh. "Shepard. I understand you must be annoyed. You're a soldier, a problem solver. But you can't go in guns blazing like that. Anyway, I thought Shamans understood delicacy."

"I'm not a very good Shaman." Mumbled Shepard. "Anyway. We owe Wrex. If need be I'll throw some Shamanic weight about to get him released."

"That won't be necessary." Groused a now much calmer Udina. "I will secure his release. Because despite the way you secured it, it does appear you have acquired the evidence we need to convict Saren."

Ashley fist pumped "Yes!"

"When's the re-trial?" Asked Shepard. She was practically vibrating with excitement.

Udina looked at his watch. "In approximately one hour." He answered.

"Brilliant!" Ashley shot out of her seat. "Then lets get going!"

"Shepard will be in attendance." Udina told her. "The rest of you aren't getting released until tomorrow."

"What?!" Asked an indignant Ashley.

"It's the least you deserve after the myriad stunts you pulled today." Growled Udina as he motioned to the C-Sec guard. Who opened the cell door with a wave of his omni-tool.

The locks on the door gave a loud 'snap' as they disengaged, finally allowing Shepard to leave the cramped cell. "Well." She said. "We'd better not keep the Council waiting."

 **0**

Tali paced back and forth, occasionally looking at the decorative trees that were scattered around the gardens at the top of the Citadel tower. She looked at the clock on her onni-tool. "Ugh." She muttered to herself.

"Still a little while to go." Said Garrus. "You should sit down Miss Zorah. Pacing isn't going to make time go any faster."

Tali gave an exasperated sigh. "I know that, but I just can't sit still. I'm the first Quarian to stand before the Council in... I don't know how long!" Tali stopped pacing and began to wring her hands.

Garrus gave a short snorting laugh. "I've never heard of anyone being excited about giving evidence to the Council before."

"Well..." Began Tali quietly. "I might be able to change their opinion on Quarians."

Garrus shook his head. "You'd have more luck changing the stars." He muttered.

"Yo Tali! Garrus!" Shouted a voice from behind them. They turned to see Shepard bounding up the stairs, a huge grin plastered on her face. She appeared to have changed out of her armour, into something approaching a dress uniform. "Time to nail Saren." She laughed as she got close to them.

"Wait. They actually let you out." Asked a disbelieving Garrus. "How did you manage that."

Shepard tapped her nose. "That's for me to know. And you to find out."

"When?" Asked Tali.

Shepard smiled. "No, it's a human expression." Tali looked away, embarrassed. "Anyway. To answer your question Garrus. Ambassador Udina got me out for the re-trial."

Tali looked down at her omni-tool again. "Which should begin in just a few minutes." She told them.

Shepard clapped her hands together excitedly. "Then lets get going."

Garrus led them up the final set of steps. "They should be presenting the evidence Tali gave me now." He said as they crested the stairs. Shepard, for the second time that day, found herself before the Citadel Council with evidence of Saren's crimes. She hoped that this time they wouldn't ignore it just to cover their golden boy's ass. Udina was already on the gangway, glaring at the Council.

"Let's get this over with." Said Sparatus. "Present your evidence."

Tali wrung her hands as the speakers played her data. "Eden Prime was a major victory." Said a Male voice that Shepard recognised as Saren's. "The beacon has brought us one step closer to the Conduit." Then another voice spoke. This one was female, with a low, husky voice. "And one step closer to the return of the Reapers."

The hairs on Shepard neck stood on end as she heard whoever that was speak about the Reapers. The Reapers had killed the Protheans. And now Saren and whoever this was want to use them to destroy, well. She wasn't sure what they wanted to destroy but she was not going to let them.

Sparatus sighed deeply, and shook his head in disappointment. "This evidence is incontrovertible. Saren has betrayed the Council." Shepard didn't think she had ever seen Sparatus look so disheartened.

"Saren will be stripped of his Spectre status." Valern told Udina. "And efforts will be made to apprehend him so he may answer for his crimes."

Tevos gave a thoughtful him before speaking her own part. "I recognise the other voice, the one speaking with Saren. It's Matriarch Benzia."

"Who?" Muttered Tali to Shepard. Apparently loud enough for Tevos to hear.

"The Matriarchs are Asari who have entered the final stages of their lives." She told the assembled group. "They act as guides and mentors for my people, not unlike the Shamans of Earth. Benzia is a wise and clever women, with many followers. She will be a powerful ally for Saren."

Valern tapped his chin with a long finger. "I am more interested in the Reapers. Miss Zorah, you pulled this data from the Geth. What can you tell us about them?"

"Umm, well, the Geth... um." Stammered Tali. Shepard put supporting hand on her shoulder and smiled at the panicked Quarian. "The Geth worship the Reapers as gods." She told them. "Thinking they are the pinnacle of non-organic life. They also believe that the Reapers wiped out the Protheans, over fifty thousand years ago."

Valern hmm'd to himself. "Obviously Saren is exploiting this belief to use the Geth as a private army."

"You don't think the Reapers are real?" Asked Tevos.

"If they are real they have left no evidence of their existence. Many theories as to how the Protheans were wiped out, this is the least credible."

Shepard cleared her throat pointedly. "Actually." She began quietly. "I think the Reapers are real." Upon witnessing the incredulous looks of everyone in the room (except Anderson) she explained. "The Prothean beacon gave me a vision. It was a vision of utter destruction, it was the Reapers destroying the Protheans I'm sure of it."

Sparatus did the Turian equivalent of raising an eyebrow before speaking. "Well Commander. As compelling evidence as a vision supplied by a relic fifty thousand years old is. Do you have anything a bit more, tangible."

"Don't mock me." Shepard bit back. She was trying not to pout.

Sparatus glared at her. "I am not mocking you Commander. I'm simply pointing out that you have no actual evidence to support your claims. The Council cannot act on hearsay and conjecture."

Shepard crossed her arms angrily and mumbled something about having a good point.

Tevos nodded in agreement. "But we must get back to the matter at hand. Do we have any idea what the Conduit is? And please try to keep the wild speculation to a minimum."

"There wasn't anything in the Geth memory core about it. But most of its core was scrambled and useless anyway." Supplied Tali.

"The best theory we have is that it's some kind of weapon." Added Anderson.

Valern nodded. "Possibly. But name suggests otherwise. It could be some kind of transport device. A tool to easily reactivate relays?"

"Possibly." Said Sparatus. "In any case. His Spectre status has been revoked and he's wanted for treason. He will not evade capture for long."

Udina (who had managed to keep quiet this whole time, much to everyone's surprise) burst like and angry verbal balloon. "That's not good enough! You know he is hiding in the Traverse! Send the fleet in!"

Tevos shook her head gravely. "That would achieve nothing but to escalate an already tense situation with the races in the Traverse. And an entire fleet cannot find a single man. This situation calls for a scalpel, not a sword. We shall be sending in a Spectre."

"What about Shepard?" Asked Anderson. The hope radiated off him in waves. "She would be perfect for this mission."

"Yes, Shepard." Sneered Sparatus. "The Council has reviewed your candidacy for the Spectres. But we have decided to decline your application."

"What?" Asked Shepard quietly.

"You will not joining the Spectres." Answered Sparatus. With a smile.


	9. Chapter 9

**Mass Exodus**

 **Chapter 6**

The Batarian cruiser _Righteous Indignation_ entered the Theseus system in a flash of light. It's computer slowing it down and allowing the ship to fall into orbit around the second planet, Feros. The ships captain looked over the readouts on his control panel. The planet was cold, dusty and almost uninhabitable. Only the Humans would be stupid enough to try and live there. Not even the Prothean ruins made it worth the effort. They'd all been picked clean by scavengers and looters years ago. But there were Humans there, enough for a quick but profitable smash and grab.

"Captain Gorak." His first mate made his presence known. "We have detected some very unusual signatures around the planet."

Gorak turned to the officer. A shrewd man named Butar who'd served with Gorak for many years. "Explain." He demanded.

"First we noticed that Feros has a new moon of some kind. Second we noticed that this system is crawling with what we think are Geth."

Gorak gave his officer a hard look. "Geth?"

Butar nodded. "Geth."

"A new moon?"

Butar nodded again. "We think so sir. The Geth are crawling all over it. It should be coming into view now." He motioned to the main screen, which still showed the horizon of Feros.

"This had better impress... me..." Goraks mouth fell open. His eyes widened as the 'moon' came into view. "Land me on that right now." He ordered.

 **o0o**

The Geth platform scanned the surrounding area as it was gently lowered into place. Designation; The Titan was nowhere near it at the moment, it was safe. Its cloaking field flickered slightly as it disconnected from the cable which had lowered it down from the roof of the dome. Almost three kilometres up. Almost three tons of wire was needed to get just one platform down safely.

Report: Update: Designation; The Titan location: Sector three heading west.

If Geth were capable of panicking the platform would have done. Consensus was that The Titan could not see through the Geth's cloaking field, but no chances were being taken. The platform moved swiftly and quietly into the nearby undergrowth.

The ground began to shake rhythmically. Slowing the shaking got more and more intense, before The Titan stepped into view. At almost twenty eight foot tall it truly was titanic. It was mostly humanoid except for the head, which was bulbous at the bottom and tapered like a drop of water, and the pair of wing like protrusions on it's back. It was theorised that these contained some form of aerial for remote control.

Scans showed it was constructed from the same material as the rest of the ship. That coupled with the fact it had been observed easily carrying almost three tons of water had lead to a quick calculation on the part of the Geth. Survival if engaged by The Titan for any single Geth platform was 199,420,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 to one against. This increased to fifteen to one for a colossus. And up to one to one for orbital assets. In all cases the odds of any single platform destroying The Titan was zero to one.

Impossible.

The Titan stepped past the bush the platform was hiding in. It was carrying a huge pitcher of water. The Geth had been observing The Titan for almost twelve hours and in that time it had been performing one duty, tending the vegetation. The Geth were very interested in what kind of civilisation would create such a monster, and then use it for gardening.

 **o0o**

The _Righteous Indignation_ shuddered as it landed on the, whatever it was. Doors along it's length opened. Dozens of troopers and engineers in hard suits ran across it's smooth surface to the edge of the closest dome. Captain Gorak looked over his troops as they set up the portable barricades to form a perimeter around the engineers. The engineers themselves began to line up the long beams that would become the huge supports for an air tight environment.

"No! Up against the wall!" He shouted through his comm. "We need to be able to get through that wall without de-pressurising the alien ship!" The engineers nodded as the orders Gorak received from high command rang in his ears. ' _Establish a beachhead. Capture anyone you find. Take all the technology you find._ ' When he told them about his discovery he knew he would be going up in the world. If he could only secure his prize.

It wasn't long before the first part of the tent was complete. "Seal complete." Said the lead engineer of the comm. Gorak stepped into the first areas rudimentary airlock that had been constructed next to the dome wall. The second door in front of him opened and he walked through into a cramped space. He motioned to a pair of engineers to get out. They replaced him in the airlock chamber. The door closed leaving him with his chief engineer.

"Have you found out why we can't scan through this stuff yet?" He asked.

The chief engineer, a small, squirrelly man, replied. "No. But once we get some samples of it I should be able to figure it out." As he said this he hefted a large circular saw up to the wall of the ship. With a grin he hit the power switch and thrust the spinning blade into the wall. The small room was suddenly filled with light, sparks and smoke. A few moments later the light dimmed, and the sparks stopped. Gorak's heaving and vision returned and showed him a dismayed engineer looking at the wall, which wasn't even blackened by the treatment it had just received.

The Engineer looked down at his cutter. Which had an utterly ruined disk spinning lazily in it. "Hmm?"

Gorak's radio crackled. "Captain. Admiral Khoran has arrived with, holy shit that's like half the fleet!"

"Officer! You will observe proper discipline when using official channels!" Growled Gorak.

"Yes sir." Apologised the officer. "He has arrived with the third, fourth and sixth task groups. And he wants you to brief him personally when he gets down there. His ETA is half an hour."

"That should give us time to finish the shelter." Muttered Gorak to himself. "Tell Admiral Khoran I'm looking forward to his arrival."

"Yes sir." Answered the officer before closing the line.

Gorak looked back to the engineer who was inspecting where he had done nothing to the wall. "You have an hour to cut through that." He told him.

The engineer looked up at Gorak, then back to the wall. He opened up a channel on his comm unit. "Bring me one the large tungsten gears, a two foot mass effect core, a ceramic steel axle and the engine from that bike we picked up."

 **o0o**

The Geth observed the Batarian fleet arrive. They had contacted Nazara and Saren had told them to ignore the Batarians unless engaged. But they were to step up their efforts of finding and subduing the crew of the huge ship. They were told Nazara would be arriving soon.

The Geth continued to observe The Titan closely, gaining more knowledge all the time. And it had been concluded that The Titan could not see them. They had not stopped their cautionary practises around it. But it made exploration of the ship easier and safer.

They had now deployed enough platforms into the dome that they could leave three hunter platforms to watch it's movements permanently. Leaving another ten standard platforms to explore the ship properly. The Geth ships had used their scanners to map out the interior to a reasonable degree of accuracy, but that didn't tell them much about what was actually in the rooms themselves. What fascinated the Geth was the recent increase in power in one of the larger chambers deep in the aft of the ship. The platforms made quick time in getting there.

 **0**

When the Geth arrived in the dark chamber they found exactly what they had been hoping to find. People.

Row upon row of people. In pods. They appeared to be in some kind of suspended animation. They were unmoving, not even breathing. But scanners detected increased amounts of power being directed into the pods. They were powering up, perhaps to release their occupants? Messages were sent to the ships waiting on top of the dome. "Bring sedatives."

 **0**

To any normal creature, being put into a stasis field was the end. Time was stopped for them, with no way for them to ever escape. But you can be broken out of a stasis field. It just required an immense amount of energy to do it.

So when Iyanna had laid down in her stasis pod, she was not worried. She knew that when the time was right the guardian would activate the Craftworlds start-up procedure and she would be awoken from her unnatural state. But as the stasis field crackled and died, she felt it. The affects of her trip though the warp hit her. She felt like a knife had been rammed through her skull.

Had she been cognisant she would have theorised that the warp could effect her through even the stasis field, it's not like time had ever been a problem for the warp before. The warp had affected her through the stasis field, but she was only feeling the effects of it's touch now. And she was an Eldar, so it hurt. It really hurt. She could feel the Slaanesh's rage at being cheated. And it felt horrific.

So when she felt a syringe pump something into her neck and sedate her, she was actually rather grateful.

 **o0o**

Deep in the bowels of the craftworld Iyanden. Where nothing should be moving or living, someone stomped angrily through black corridors. The lack of light did not impede his progress. He had long since memorised the layout of this place, he knew exactly where he should tread, where he should turn and where the lock on the door was. Passing his hand over the activation crystal, the circular door in front of him slid open silently. And the deep quiet of the corridor was replaced by the sound of wet drops hitting stone.

He stepped into the cavern. Ordinarily it would be used for training aspect warriors, teaching them how to move silently and fight in the dark. But now it was just a silent, empty cave. Or almost empty. Now Lokas could see. Scattered around the cavern were the small purple lamps of his Masque. Around each lamp were ten or so of his fellow Harlequins. He walked passed them purposefully, heading towards the largest lamp, which had only five people sitting in it's light.

The first he noticed was Laebala, the de-facto leader of the Death Jesters. Next to her was Celsys the senior Shadowseer, easily the oldest member of the Masque, and possibly the wisest. Next to her were Chadriel and Fueban, two of the three Troupe Masters, Twilight and Dark respectively. The last figure was Isendad, the Great Harlequin. The leader of the Masque. It was he Lokas was here to talk to.

Lokas gracefully lowered himself to the floor opposite Isendad. A few moments of silence passed before Isendad decided to address Lokas. "So, Troupe Master of the light, you have returned from your sojourn to the surface."

"I have Great Harlequin." Responded Lokas in a respectful tone.

"What did you see?"

Lokas sighed dramatically. "The soulless machines continue to evade the Guardian. More of them pour through the hole the managed to make in the great dome. But what's worse is they discovered where the council of Iyanden were held in stasis. When Iyanna awoke they sedated her and the rest of the council."

"You didn't stop them?" Asked Fueban angrily.

Lokas shrugged. "They were many, I was one." He turned back to Isendad. "But if I gather my Troupe I could stop them in a heartbeat. With your permission Isendad."

"No." Spoke Celsys. "It is not our fate to rescue the world."

"We cannot do nothing." Insisted Lokas.

Celsys laughed. "When the time comes we shall act and play our parts. But ultimately, for now. We are but the players in someone else's story."

"But what if the find the children?" Asked Laebala, with uncharacteristic seriousness.

Isendad answered before Celsys could speak. "Then we will act. I will not risk innocence for the sake of someone else's story."

Celsys' response died in her throat. The group looked to where she was staring. She, He, It, walked out of the shadows. Their great, black coat billowed behind them. Their hood concealed their face, the only part visible were the two great horns that jutted from the mask they were wearing. Lokas felt his skin crawl as the Solitaire stalked past the group. No one knew where they were going, and no one dared ask.

 **o0o**

Gorak stood outside the small facility his team of engineers had built. Soon it would be a sprawling military base. He watched as dozens of shuttles ferried down extra materials, tools and people. But their was only one he was anticipating. He saw the larger, grander shuttle exit the docking bay of the huge carrier. That was almost certainly Admiral Khoran's. It reached the surface at a brisk pace and landed directly in front of Gorak.

The side door opened to reveal the almost regal figure of the admiral. His hard suit was noticeably finer than even Gorak's. He bowed to the admiral as he stepped off the shuttle and up to Gorak. "Admiral. It is an honour to have you overseeing this operation." Said Gorak. And he meant it, Khoran was a legend in the Batarian military.

Khoran stepped past Gorak without saying a word. He scanned the facility Gorak's engineers had built. He swallowed nervously. Would Khoran approve? He turned back to Gorak. "You have done well Captain." He told him in a voice hardened by years of bellowing orders. "Now take me to where you intend to break through the wall."

"Of course Admiral." Said Gorak with relief.

 **0**

Gorak opened the final door and allowed Khoran to step through first. They both marvelled at the bizarre device being constructed in front of them. It consisted of a large engine on the end of a telescopic arm. On top the engine was a mass effect core spinning furiously, presumably to make the final part of the device easier to move around. Because the final part was a huge tungsten gear, almost five feet across. His engineer had informed him is was a 'hypoid, bevelled gear'. Gorak didn't know what that meant and was afraid to ask. There were only so many hours in the day. Overall the whole thing looked like a large, mutated drill.

"Is that tungsten?" Asked Khoran. Now the admiral had removed his helmet Gorak could see the famous facial scar Khoran had gotten during his first tour of duty. I stretched down from his forehead, through both his left eyes. The bottom was a milky white, the top was just missing completely.

"It is." Answered the engineer impressed.

Khoran nodded. "I think I see what you're trying to achieve."

The engineer smiled. "We will be using the gear to bore a hole through the wall. Well more accurately melt a hole through."

Khoran continued to nod. "Are you sure the tungsten won't melt?"

The engineer tapped the wall. "Unless this is made of pure carbon. No."

Khoran ran his finger tips down the wall. "How long will this take?" He asked.

The engineer shrugged. "Well we've taken some sonic readings and we think the wall is only two meters thick. So once we start we should be able to give a time frame. But until we work out how quickly we can cut through this stuff I can't even guess."

"Very well, carry on." Said Khoran before turning on his heels and stepping out of the room. "Captain. With me." He called. Gorak quickly followed him.

 **o0o**

Oladra smiled internally as she finished shovelling handfuls of dirt around the tree she had just planted. Carefully she pressed the earth down, packing in the tender roots. She looked around for the water she had carried to this spot, but she couldn't see it. She concentrated, shifted her vision around. Her world expanded from a formless grey void with only a single tree to a glittering black expanse where she could see all the life around her, no matter how small.

The lump of teeming lights told her exactly where the water was. She reached out her hand and felt the edge of the huge pitcher she was using to ferry the water about. She sifter her vision again, back to the formless grey void. But this time their was no tree, only the pitcher of water. And the watering can. To a living Eldar this can was very large and unwieldy. To Oladra and her wraithlord body, it was tiny. She carefully filled the watering can and stepped back to where she remembered the tree being. She showered water over the area, soaking the ground.

She smiled inwardly again. Soon the craftworld would wake. She had activated the start-up procedure, as instructed. Now it was just a matter of time before the Spiritseer's took her soul and returned it to the Infinity Circuit. So she could return to her eternal sleep.

 **o0o**

Gorak watched the screen with apprehension. The huge tungsten gear began to spin. Made impossibly light by the mass effect field surrounding it, soon it reached a frightening speed, becoming little more than a grey blur. Even though he was over ten meters away from the device he could feel the floor vibrating from the frightening forces his engineer was messing with.

"How fast is that going?" He asked the engineer. Worry in his voice.

The engineer looked at the readout on his omni-tool. "Around thirty seven thousand RPM."

Gorak cleared his throat. "I'm not going to lie. This seems really dangerous."

The engineer shrugged. "Why do you think we're in another room. There's all sorts of things that could go wrong. The gear could shatter and explode, the substance the walls are made of could explode under the conditions we're exposing it to, It could be highly reactive under the conditions we're exposing it to..."

Admiral Khoran spoke before Gorak could. "I take it that's why you filled the room with argon?" He asked.

"Yes admiral." Answered the engineer, impressed. He looked back to his omni-tool. "I think we can begin." He said ominously. He tapped out a command and watched the spinning gear as it was pressed into the wall. The camera switched to thermal viewing and the three of them watched the heat in the room increase. "I think it's working." Muttered the engineer in amazement.

"It's over a thousand degrees in there!" Complained Gorak. "Isn't that dangerous."

"No." Khoran told him. "The walls of our modular facilities can take much higher temperatures."

"So." Said the engineer who had been doing some quick mathematics on his omni-tool. "I think we should be through that wall in roughly twelve hours."

Khoran turned to Gorak. "I want all SIU members ready for insertion in six hours." He told him.

"Yes captain."


	10. Chapter 10

**Mass Exodus**

 **Chapter 7**

Mirese watched with some concern as a pair of Tau EMT's inspected Firir and Tsu'bur. She was trying very hard to be very concerned for them so she wouldn't think about what Korless had said. It couldn't be right, it was just too bizarre. They couldn't possibly be from another galaxy, that simply wasn't possible. The two paramedics lifted Firir into his designated seat as the stocky Tau began to wake up. They did the same for Tsu'bur as he also began to wake.

"Please leave us." Prinol told them gravely. The two medics nodded and left.

There followed a long, uncomfortable pause. Only broken by Ressi quietly asking Korless. "Why do you think you're in another galaxy?"

Korless looked closely at her. "The Great Wound is missing from this galaxy. It should be visible from every star. But it is not."

"The Great Wound?" Questioned Vumino. "What is is?"

Korless clicked his tongue and answered in a hushed voice. "It is where the Dark Sister was born. Where she tore her way into the world."

Prinol scoffed. "I'm afraid the Kroot have some rather foolish superstitions." Korless stood up abruptly. He hissed at Prinol before stalking off to a corner of the room. "In truth we don't know what the 'Great Wound' is." Continued Prinol. "And I doubt anyone does." He glared at the still recovering Firir. "I. In fact, have never heard of it before today. But, if a large stellar formation is missing, it does raise some questions."

"Such as where are you? And how did you get here?" Supplied Ressi.

"I can, sort of, answer those questions." Said Firir weakly. "We haven't just travelled to another galaxy. I have used the known rate of stellar drift to calculate that we are..." He stopped at the myriad blank looks he was getting. "I used the stars to work out we're in the past."

Anysus actually burst out laughing. "You can't be serious!"

"Deadly." Said Firir. "We have travelled roughly thirty six thousands years into the past." The silence in the room became palpable, cloying in it's intensity. "But." He continued. "It gets worse. I believe we are also in another universe entirely."

Prinol leant over to Firir. "Fio'O Firir. I know you never explained what the device did because we could never truly understand. But now I am asking you to tell me as simply as you can. What did the device do?"

Firir sighed deeply. He looked at Mirese's group. "Are you sure they should be present?" He asked.

"They need to know. Otherwise they will never believe us."Answered Prinol. "The device was destroyed anyway."

Firir nodded, and began. "The device used an unknown principle to punch a hole through the fabric of reality into another, parallel, dimension. A dimension which appears to be unbound by time, or even the laws of physics as we understand them. There's a lot more to the process than that, but that's all you need to know to really understand how we got into this predicament."

Vumino raised a hand and asked. "What evidence do you have that you are not simply in the past?"

"Because you have Humans here, but not Eldar or Orks!" Shouted Firir.

The room fell silent, excepting the low mumbling of Firir as he held his head in his hands. "I think." Began Prinol. "That we should have a short recess."

"Yes!" Agreed Mirese quickly. "Yes, I think that would be best." She and her entourage rose, gave a respectful bow, and left.

A short, slender Tau greeted them as they left the meeting hall. His long blue robe signified him as a member of the water caste. "Hello." He smiled and bowed. "I am Por'La Mon'pras. I have been assigned to your group to make your stay aboard ship as comfortable as possible. Rooms have been arranged for your group, if you wish to stay aboard?"

"We do." Answered Ressi politely. "If you could show us the way."

Mon'pras nodded before motioning for them to follow him.

 **0**

After the diplomatic group left. "Oh my word this is horrific!" Exclaimed Prinol, throwing up his hands.

"How could you have gotten it this wrong!" Shouted Tsu'bur accusingly, pointing a long finger at Firir. Tsu'bur and Prinol continued to voice their objections to the situation, loudly. Firir hadn't moved from his position, his head still clasped in his hands. He continued to mutter to himself nonsensically.

"BY THE GREATER GOOD!" Bellowed Tsu'bur. "YOU STUPID EARTH MOVER-"

*SMACK*

Korless glared at Tsu'bur over the long hunting knife he had slammed down into the table. "And I suppose that makes me a bird brain." He muttered dangerously. "The greater good." He said with a laugh. "It's always funny watching a society fall apart when the going gets tough." He gripped the knife and pulled it from the table easily. Tsu'bur gulped as he saw that the knife had been buried almost four inches into the table. "It's always been a wonder to me how you've lasted this long." He told them before leaving the room entirely.

Prinol managed to compose himself enough to say. "Well I guess we need a solution to our problem."

"Problems." Corrected Or'es. "We have many problems now." The rest of them looked over to her questioningly. "We are now facing a dangerous situation. We are cut off from any supply lines with no way of re-connecting. We are about as deep in unknown and potentially hostile territory as we can be. That's not one big problem, that's a series of big problems each as difficult to solve as the other."

"So this, Citadel Council, is the biggest stroke of luck we could have had." Said Tsu'bur, Struck by a sudden realisation.

Prinol appeared to come to the same realisation himself. "We need to ingratiate ourselves with these ambassadors." He turned to Tsu'bur. "We should probably deactivate the listening devices in their rooms, just in case then."

 **o0o**

The doors closed behind Mirese with a quiet click. She spun around and gave her three companions a panicked look. "Ok, do we actually-" She was cut off by Vumino who held up a long finger to silence her.

He scanned around the room with his Omni-tool, walking a slow circuit around the furniture and walls. "They aren't listening to us." He said finally. "That genuinely surprises me."

"Perhaps you just can't find the bugs." Suggested Anysus.

"No they're there. They're just not turned on. You can talk now." He told Mirese.

"Ok! Do we actually believe any of that!?" She asked franticly.

The three trained diplomats thought for a moment, their heads leaning back slightly. "I don't see why not." Said Ressi finally.

"Because it's utterly ridiculous!" Complained Mirese.

Vumino shrugged. "They have no reason to lie about something so outrageous. To conceal their homeworld?" He asked hypothetically. "They know from our data packet that we cannot reach any system that doesn't have a mass relay in or near it. They could have claimed that they are from an area without a mass relay and used their own FTL system to reach this area. We would have no way of disproving their assertion." He paused for a moment, allowing the rest of them to think briefly. "But what we need to ask is. What difference does it make if they are or aren't from another dimension?" Asked Vumino. "There is nothing they can gain by deceiving us about their origins. Their technology appears to be superior to ours. And I doubt that a civilisation that has access to that level of faster than light travel could want for resource's."

Ressi nodded in agreement. "There is also the 'Kroot' I believe he was called. The idea of one species developing a FTL drive and never encountering a mass relay I can believe. Two?" She shook her head. "I'm not sure I buy that."

Mirese was confused. "But you will believe that they're from another dimension?"

"Well as Dr Vumino said." Continued Ressi. "Ultimately it doesn't really matter. What matters is that we open proper diplomatic channels with them immediately. To that end I suggest we take them to the Citadel."

"That does seem to be the next step." Agreed Anysus.

"This has all gotten way beyond anything I was prepared for." Complained Mirese. "Do you think I can go now?"

Ressi gave Mirese a sympathetic look. "If you wish to leave, we will not stop you. But I think it would be better if you stayed. This process will be much quicker and easier if they have a consistent point of contact."

"Fine." Sighed Mirese. Ressi gave her a broad smile.

The double doors opened. Mon'pras gave a small bow before addressing them. "The Ethereal will see you all again, at your convenience." He told them.

 **0**

Mirese was very uneasy about talking to the Ethereal. There was something about him she didn't like. She couldn't put her finger on it, but he was just, off slightly. "It's an honour to be speaking like this." She told him. "I appreciate how difficult your position must be. But I want to assure you that the Citadel Council is willing to help you in any way it can."

Prinol smiled. He was the only Tau in the room, which surprised Mirese. Having no guards was a slight gamble on how friendly she and her group were. _There must be something I'm not seeing_ she thought. "That is gratifying to hear." Said Prinol, still smiling. "I have read your data on the Citadel Council and it seems like a very worthy venture. One that the Tau would be very interested in being a part of."

"That is wonderful to hear." Said Mirese with a beaming smile. _That's the hard bit done_. "To that end we would very much like to escort you to the Citadel itself."

"Ah. That may be a problem." Prinol seemed to be very reluctant to say what he said next. "Our gravitic drive system will not be capable of the speeds necessary to get us to the Citadel in a practical time frame."

"How long will it take?" Asked Vumino.

Prinol looked down at a page of notes. Written in boxy, angular letters. "According to Firir's notes. Roughly one hundred and fifty six years."

"That is a long time." Gasped Ressi.

Prinol smiled. He hadn't stopped smiling, noted Mirese. "I am not worried. Fio'O Firir believes he may have a solution based around your mass relay system."

"He thinks your FTL drive and the relay system are compatible?" Guessed Vumino.

Prinol gave an imperious laugh. "From what I understood he thinks that if he flies our ship through the stream of reduced... I don't know, if you really want to know ask him." Prinol sighed and his smile faltered for a moment. "He assures me it's perfectly safe. But I am going to ask a rather large favour of you."

"I am sure we can accommodate any request you have." Mirese told him.

"The majority of the Tau on board would not be required for the initial test flight, only the bridge crew and a skeleton crew of engineers." Prinol's smile finally began to waver noticeably. "I am asking you to..."

"Evacuate your non essential crew." Finished Anysus. He shared a look with Ressi and Vumino. "I think that is achievable." He said with a small smile.

Prinol's smile returned with a vengeance, but his time it seemed like a show of genuine happiness and relief. "There is one other request I have. I would like to meet the Citadel Council."

Mirese gave a genuine smile of her own. "That can definitely be arranged."

 **o0o**

The waitress gave Garrus a smile as she placed his drink down in front of him. He smiled back, about to ask her name when Shepard took a noisy sip from her own large whiskey and announced loudly. "Well that was a bunch of bullshit and chips." The waitress blanched and gave a polite nod before leaving.

"That's life Shepard." Muttered Garrus, slightly annoyed. "You can't tell me you weren't surprised. Do you have any idea how much of a security risk you represent?"

Shepard thought for a moment. "You mean how my memories carry over?"

"Yeah. To be honest I'm surprised you were even up for consideration." Said Garrus.

Shepard glared at Garrus for a moment before taking another sip from her drink. "All the same. It's not fair that we weren't allowed to go after Saren." She motioned to herself, Garrus and Tali, who was nursing a glass of the closest thing the Turian bar had to wine. "After all, we were the ones to find the evidence that convicted him." She complained. "All I got for my trouble was a thank you and a crappy commendation."

"Well at least you got a thank you!" Butted in Tali. "All I got was Executor Pallin telling me I should have come forward with my evidence sooner."

"Well to be fair you probably should have." Reasoned Garrus.

Shepard could see Tali's glowing eyes narrow at Garrus. "I tried." She growled. "What will you do now?" She asked Shepard.

"Wait for orders I suppose." Sighed Shepard.

"Whatever they may be." Said Kaiden from behind Shepard. She spun around to see Kaiden, Ashley and Wrex walking through the bar towards them.

"I thought you weren't getting released until tomorrow?" She asked, confused.

Garrus coughed conspicuously. "I pulled a couple of strings." He told her. "It was easy, they were getting released anyway."

"We heard about the Spectre thing." Said Ashley as she and the others sat down. "It's all a bunch of crap if you ask me."

Shepard sighed again. "Yeah. I suppose. Not much to do now but get drunk."

Wrex barked out a laugh. "I like you Shaman." He told her as a waitress arrived to take their order.

"Why are we in a Turian bar?" Asked Kaiden after ordering a beer.

He was answered by a tall Asari who seemed to appear out of nowhere. "Because it's easier finding a dextro bar that serves levo than the other way around." She sat down. "Water please." She told the waitress. Shepard looked at the Asari, she could tell by the way she carried herself she was experienced. Shepard wasn't too good at judging the age of an Asari by looks alone, but she guessed she was older than most.

"I don't remember inviting you to sit down." Grumbled Shepard.

The Asari ignored her. "I suppose I should introduce myself. I am Spectre G'dore Perdent."

"Let me guess. You've been assigned to track down Saren." Said Shepard.

Perdent nodded. "Right. I'm going after Saren."

Shepard snorted a laugh. "Let me guess again. You want me to come with you?" She asked.

Perdent looked embarrassed for a moment. "Not you commander. I was actually going to ask Garrus and Wrex." She sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. "I would ask you, but the Council have told me that you aren't allowed anywhere near this mission."

"Bastards!" Exclaimed Ashley.

"It's all right." Sighed Shepard. "At least someone is going after him."

Perdent smirked. "Don't worry. I'll track him down." She looked at Wrex and Garrus. "It'd e easier with you to on my side."

"Well I'm going after Saren anyway." Rumbled Wrex. "And I suppose it wouldn't hurt to be _on_ the laws side for a change."

"What about you Garrus?" Asked Perdent. "I could use an experienced investigator."

The Turian officer thought deeply for a moment. "I'm in." He said finally.

"Fantastic." Smiled Perdent. "I should warn you, I'm leaving in just a couple of hours."

"Where are you heading." Asked Kaiden."

Perdent Grimaced. "I shouldn't tell you. But, I'm heading to Knossos. Matriarch Benezia's daughter Liara T'Soni is doing research out there. She must know something about her mothers actions." She stood up, ready to leave.

"I want to come with you." Said Tali excitedly. "I want to help stop Saren."

Perdent waved her off. "I don't need an engineer." She said dismissively. Tali seemed to visibly deflate. "Garrus, Wrex. I'll meet you at docking bay fourty four B in an hour." Then, she walked off.

There was a pause as they watched her leave. "Well." Said Garrus finally. "I guess I should go pack. See you around Shepard." He said before getting up and leaving himself.

"I suppose I should go as well." Muttered Wrex. He to stood to leave, but before he did he thrust out his hand to shake Shepards own. "But Shaman. It was an honour."

Shepard gripped it with a wide grin. "Likewise Wrex. Good hunting." The large Krogan just nodded before lumbering off. Shepard gave a small smile as she watched the crowd part before him.

"So Tali." Started Kaiden hesitantly. "What are you gonna do?"

The Quarian sighed. "I don't know. Continue my pilgrimage of course."

"Pilgrimage?" Asked Shepard.

"It's the Quarian right of passage." She explained with quiet enthusiasm. "When a Quarian reaches maturity they leave the Flotilla. And they look for something of value. Once they find something, they come back and present it to one of the fleet captains. If the captain accepts the gift they become part of the crew. The gift proves that the new crew member will not be a burden on their new ship."

"Wouldn't a test or something be easier." Scoffed Ashley. "Why go to all that trouble."

Tali's glowing eyes narrowed slightly. "It's not just test, it also helps maintain genetic diversity. And it brings in the new resources needed by the flotilla."

"Still." Continued Ashley. "It's a bit harsh, sending your kids out like that. The galaxy is a dangerous place."

Tali nodded in understanding. "It can be dangerous. But we aren't sent out with nothing. We are given gifts to help us. And training and lessons about how to survive in the galaxy."

"I'd say it helped you." Said Kaiden with a small smile. "You seemed to know how to handle that shotgun, if what I saw in the ally is anything to go by."

"Thanks." Said Tali in a tentative voice. "I guess."

Shepard's omni-tool beeped, as did Ashley's and Kaiden's. She gave an annoyed huff as she looked over the message. "It's from Anderson." She told them. Ashley and Kaiden sat to attention unconsciously. "The Normandy is being sent to the Theseus system. Some the colony there has gone quiet. That coupled with some odd Batarian fleet movements has the brass worried, we're being sent in to see what's happening." She looked down at the dejected Tali. "You should come with us." She told her.

"What?" Asked a surprised Tali.

"What?" Asked an equally surprised Kaiden and Ashley.

Shepard had become visibly enthused. "Yeah! This whole thing is probably nothing anyway. And if I remember right, Feros is in the Theseus system. That's covered in Prothean stuff. I'm sure we could nab something for your pilgrimage."

Ashley looked through her own omni-tool. "And I'm sure this has nothing to do with the Geth that were apparently spotted in the Theseus system as well."

"Nothing." Assured Shepard with a huge grin.

Ashley narrowed her eyes."And I'm sure Tali's ability to extract data from Geth has nothing to do with anything." Tali and Kaiden were both stifling their laughter.

Shepard nodded. "You are quite right."

"And if I was to say that this is a plan to go after Saren yourself. Even though you've been told _by the Council_ not to..." Ashley waved her hand expectantly.

"I would be wounded by the implication." Said Shepard. Who was struggling to contain her own laughter.

Ashley shrugged theatrically. "Well as long as we've got that cleared up." She declared.

Tali raised a hand shyly. "This plan of not going after Saren is all well and good." She began. "But are the Alliance even going to let me on board one of their ships?"

Shepard flashed her a toothy grin. "Trust me. I'm a Shaman."


	11. Chapter 11

**Mass Exodus**

 **Chapter 8**

Celsys floated a foot off the ground, cross legged. She spun around her lamp in a wide circle. Her two fellow shadowseers also floated around the lamp. All three of them were deep in meditation, their faces blank with serenity. Then. They all stopped moving. The two other shadowseers opened their eyes and looked at Celsys in confusion.

She looked up, they could tell she was watching something far past the rocky ceiling of the artificial cavern. "He is here." She answered their unasked question.

"Our villain?" One asked.

"And our hero." Answered Celsys.

 **0**

Saren stepped off the Geth shuttle onto the surface of the dome. Though you couldn't tell it was a dome from where he was standing. It was so wide, and the curve so gradual it looked extraordinarily flat. The only thing that marred it's bone coloured surface was the much smaller dome that had been constructed by the Geth to cover the hole they had cut. Another shuttle touched down, and matriarch Benezia stepped off. She was flanked by a pair of Asari commandos. Each hefting a huge rifle.

She marched up to Saren. His own guard consisted of a pair of Geth primes. "Saren." She began, her voice made tinny by the microphone in her helmet. "I know this is an amazing discovery. But did you have to shut down peak fifteen? We were on the cusp of something great, we could have had an army of Rachni."

"Did you get the location of the Mu relay?" He asked, disinterested. He began walking towards the Geth dome. Benezia fell in step beside him.

"Yes. I did. But without the expertise of the scientists you had me kill the creature will almost certainly die." She complained.

Saren scoffed. "The Rachni are nothing compared to what the Geth have found on this ship."

"This ship _is_ impressive Saren." Admitted Benezia. "But all that shows is this civilisation has a monstrous amount of element zero. And too much time."

Saren opened the outside door to the dome's airlock. "There are no traces of element zero anywhere on this ship." He said, finally looking at her. "We can't find anything resembling conventional technology. The ships in the docking bay seem to be more advanced than anything I've seen, even than more Sovereign."

Benezia stopped in her tracks. "Are you sure?" She asked.

"Certain." He answered. "But this situation has a number of problems. And the easiest to solve is the Batarians. I want you to contact them and offer an alliance."

Benezia raised an eyebrow. "So we shall be betraying them."

"Of course."

 **0**

"Shepard." Sighed Anderson, his head in his hands. The two of them were in Anderson's quarters on the _Normandy_ , on either side of his desk. He looked up at her from his seat. "I know you have a soft spot for strays."

"I do not!" She complained.

"You once brought a stray cat aboard." He reminded her.

Shepard gave a sly grin. "And admiral Mittens was the best ships cat we ever ha-"

"Commander!" Shouted Anderson. Shepard snapped to attention. "There is a difference between a cat and a random Quarian! You can't reasonably expect me to let her stay aboard the most advanced ship in the Alliance fleet just because you felt sorry for her."

"You're right sir." She said seriously. "I know her experience in dealing with Geth will be incredibly useful for the upcoming mission."

Anderson sighed again deeply. "If it was anybody else doing this, I would have them cleaning the hull with a toothbrush." He muttered to himself. "As it stands I'm just going to get you to clean the whole crews gear as a punishment for not running this by me." He gave her a small smile. "But that's only because I think you're right. Dismissed."

Shepard managed to contain her smile until she had left Anderson's quarters/office. She gave Kaiden a thumbs up as she passed him, before she headed towards the elevator. The short but boring trip took slightly longer than it should have done, but eventually the doors opened to reveal the vehicle bay. The large space dominated by the shadow of the Mako. She waved to Ashley before rounding the corner and up the corridor into engineering.

"Shepard!" Called Tali as she bounded up to Shepard, not unlike an excitable puppy. "Your ship is amazing!"

"That she is." Replied Shepard with a large grin. "And you shall be staying aboard for the foreseeable future."

"Your captain didn't have a problem with it?" Asked Tali.

Shepard sucked her teeth. "No, he had a problem. But I managed to talk him round."

Tali cocked her head quizzically. "Round what?"

Shepard laughed. "No, it's an expression. I convinced him you could be useful for when we get to fighting Geth."

Tali gave a small salute. "I'll do my best commander. Actually, is it commander? Aren't you a Shaman."

Shepard waved her off. "No one calls me by that title. It's always commander or Shepard. Only my mother uses my first name." Sighed Shepard.

"Umm." Began Tali hesitantly. "Is it true..."

"Is what true?"

"Is it true you can see peoples souls?" Whispered Tali.

Shepards smile became weaker. "Yes it's true. I try to avoid it though."

"Why?"

Shepard gave another deep sigh. "A person's soul can tell you more about them than a thousand conversations. What they truly think and feel is written indelibly on their soul form." Shepard looked at the floor. "It's incredibly intrusive, you can often find out more about a person then they know themselves. To soul gaze without someone's permission is very taboo. But it's obvious when you're doing it though."

"It is?" Tali asked, fascinated.

Shepard nodded. "My eyes would start to glow." She explained.

Tali whispered again. "Could you look at my soul?"

"Right now?" Asked Shepard. To which Tali nodded. "I could." Replied Shepard warily. "Are you sure? I won't be able to tell you what I see, it's just not done, if you see what I mean?" Tali nodded again, more solemnly. Shepard shrugged and opened her metaphorical third eye.

All the colour drained out of the world. Physical objects turned black, with barely any definition to differentiate them from each other. Tali changed, her soul glowed white through her now black physical form. She hadn't changed much, her soul still took the form of her encounter suit. Except where there used to be clasps, instead their were heavy padlocks, rusted shut. And her mask was clear glass. Containing a small humanoid(ish), but beautiful girl with long purple hair.

Her hands smashed into the glass. Shepard could just about lip-read the words she was silently shouting. 'Help me. Help me, I'm trapped.'

Shepard shut her dampening eyes and stopped her soul gaze. "Shepard?" Asked a confused Tali as she was pulled into a hug.

"I'm sorry." Sniffled Shepard. "Sometimes, seeing things as they really are can be a bit sobering.

Tali looked up at her, concerned. "What did you see?"

"I can't tell you." Apologised Shepard. "But let's just say I have a new appreciation for you being stuck in that suit."

Shepard's omni-tool bleeped, announcing an incoming call. She unravelled herself from Tali and clicked the receive button. "Shepard here."

"Shepard you're receiving a call, Anderson said you can take it in the comm room." Said the disembodied voice of Richard, the _Normandy's_ comms officer.

"Who is it?" Asked Shepard, already heading towards the lift.

"She says she's your mother."

Shepard stopped moving. "Tell her I'm busy." Shepard told him. Tali gave Shepard an odd look at her slightly fearful tone of voice.

Richard gave a small laugh. "Anderson already told her you were on your way, he said something about payback for Mrs Zorah."

Shepard's sigh was as heavy as lead. "I'm on my way."

 **0**

Shepard took a calming breath before opening communications. "Hello mother." She said loudly. And grudgingly. Anderson had allowed her to take the call in the large, and private comms room.

"Clara." Said her mother happily. She was almost a carbon copy of her daughter, only more wrinkled and grey haired. She was sitting in an old fashioned room, wearing old fashioned clothes, in an old leather wing backed chair. "You don't sound happy too see me." She spoke in a stuck up, English accent. Shepard knew she just put it on for show.

"To be honest mother, I'm suspicious." She told her. "You almost never call me just to say hi."

Her mother smiled slyly. "Well I did here of the grape vine THAT YOU GOT ARRESTED!"

"It was hardly arrested mother." Complained Shepard.

"You spent time in a prison cell!" Her mother snapped back. "That is arrested!"

Shepard looked away from her mothers gaze. "It was just a misunderstanding." She lied.

"You shot. Up. A. Bar." Growled the older Shepard.

Shepard huffed. "Anderson told you that didn't he."

"Yes he did, he is such a nice man." Her mother smiled fondly. "And don't pout dear, it's unbecoming."

"I do not pout mother." Pouted Shepard. "You do know if it wasn't for Anderson you wouldn't even be able to call me like this."

Her mother continued to smile fondly. "He is a nice man. And speaking of nice men..."

Shepard's head slammed into the comms desk. "Maaaaaaa!" She wailed.

The elder Shepard continued as if she hadn't heard a thing. "I was speaking to Lord Rochester and his son is only a year older than you-"

"No!" Interrupted Shepard loudly, looking back up at her mother. "You are _not_ going to set me up with one of those puffy, stuck up gits who can't even make their own breakfast without breaking down in tears!"

"I just want to find someone who's good enough for you." Sighed her mother. "Someone who can look after my grandchildren."

"I am not having this conversation on a monitored, military channel." Said Shepard with finality.

"Well." Sniffed her mother. "Fair enough. I suppose." Shepard wondered how her mother managed to make that sound like an accusation. "But I just don't think you'll find a good husband gallivanting around the galaxy like you do." Her mother looked at Shepard sadly. "You know military men don't always make the best husbands. Or fathers."

"I know mother." Admitted Shepard. "I love you. Speak to you soon."

"I love you too dear."

Shepard sighed once again as the screen went blank.

 **0**

Shepard sat down at the mess table and mumbled into her hands. Kaiden sat opposite her, smiling, tying not to laugh. Shepard looked up at him and glowered. Beside him Ashley tried to contain her laughter. Tali plonked a tray down in front of her. Her tray was filled with Turian food, the only dextro food the ship had on board. The confused Quarian looked over at Kaiden. "What are you laughing about?" She asked.

"Can't even make their own breakfast?" Kaiden asked, laughing.

"Oh Richard you bastard!" Yelled Shepard. "He let you listen in on the whole thing?!"

"Not Richard." Laughed Ashley. "Anderson. His revenge for you springing Tali on him."

"The captain doesn't like me?" Asked Tali nervously.

"I like you plenty." Said Anderson from behind her. "Adams just gave a me a glowing report abut you. Seems like Shepard did good bringing you aboard." He gave her a thumbs up, which Tali tentatively returned. "We have our orders. We're meeting up with taskforce Agrippa and picking up a platoon of Alliance Marines. Then we're heading to Feros to see what happened to our colony."

Shepard smiled and began to dig into her food.

 **o0o**

Gorak watched the screen as gallons of melted whatever pored out of the hole his engineer was boring through the wall of the starship. He had been assured that this was perfectly safe. All the adjacent rooms had been half filled with water to prevent the spread of fire through convection. And the room itself was full of Argon, which was going to prevent fires and explosions, somehow. They were almost an hour behind schedule. Having had to stop and expand the drilling room to make enough space for the molten run off. But they would be through the wall in just a few minutes.

His communicator beeped. "Captain Gorak, please report to airlock five." Commanded the voice of Khoran.

Gorak swiftly made his way through the now massive installation that had been built to accommodate the huge numbers of Special Intervention Unit members and Batarian marines that had been transported in over the last six hours. It was clear to everyone present that Khoran was not playing around. Gorak felt honoured to have been given command of the installation. Even if he and others were getting nervous about the lack of response to their presence.

He arrived at airlock five and snapped a salute to Khoran, who saluted back. The Admiral pointed to a nearby monitor and asked. "What do you make of that?"

Gorak looked at the monitor which showed a tall woman in an Asari style hard suit. But not a military style suit. She was flanked by a pair of women in Asari commando hard suits. Gorak gulped nervously, behind the women were two huge machines. Each with a single glowing 'eye', and holding a huge rifle each. Geth primes. But the most confusing thing was that the central woman was holding aloft a large white flag.

"I'm not sure what I make of that." Answered Gorak after a few moments.

Khoran nodded. "Neither do I. But I do know that the white flag is a Human symbol. It's a banner of truce and negotiation." Gorak watched silently as Khoran thought deeply for a moment. "Let them in." He said.

Gorak gaped for a moment before before nodding and typing out a command on a nearby console.

 **0**

Benezia smiled as the door to the airlock opened. She dropped the flag as she and her bodyguard walked towards the entrance to the Batarian base. She was justifiably wary of a potential trap being sprung on her. As was Saren, that was why he had insisted on sending two primes with her. She was grateful for the gesture, but slightly annoyed that it had destroyed any illusion of her weakness. The outer airlock door closed behind her and she felt the room pressurise as it filled with air.

The inner door opened as Benezia removed her helmet. She looked through the now open door and saw four Batarians pointing rifles at her, a short Batarian baring the insignia of a captain looked at her nervously. But it was the sixth Batarian that made Benezia herself nervous. It was admiral Khoran. Known to many as Khoran the Butcher.

Benezia cleared her throat. "Admiral Khoran?" He nodded silently. "I am here to enter negotiations with you."

"On who's behalf?" He asked. "You don't represent the Asari, they would never work with the Geth. The Geth themselves would never bother negotiating. And if you actually led the merry band of machines sitting on top of that dome you would never come yourself. So who do you work for?"

Benezia realised lying could prove fatal. Or worse. "I am here on behalf of Saren." She told him. The other Batarians glanced towards the admiral nervously. Khoran didn't react visibly at all. "I see. Why?"

She smiled. "He wants to join our forces. So that we may more easily explore this ship. He offers to share any technology that we find, and offers to share any prisoners that we take together."

Khoran smiled back. Benezia got the impression it was the same smile he gave when looking down at his dinner. "You mean he intends to betray us at the first opportunity. Most likely after he has lulled us into a false sense of security." His smile became a harsh sneer. "Go back to your master, varren! And tell him if he comes, we will be waiting. This ship is ours, and no one else's."

The doors to the airlock snapped shut. Benezia quickly replaced her helmet before the outer airlock door could open. " _Saren isn't going to like this"_ She thought.

 **0**

As soon as the airlock door shut Khoran turned and began barking orders. "I want to be through that wall in the next hour! I want our defensive perimeter reinforced! Double the number of men at each point!" Gorak snapped a salute and ran to fulfil the orders.

 _Roughly an hour later_

Khoran checked his gear for the final time, as did the elite SIU operatives around him. He had been told that the tunnel they had carved would be cool enough to crawl through. And he intended to lead the first foray into the ship. Apparently it's atmosphere was breathable, the gravity was well within acceptable tolerances and the temperature had been described as 'not un-pleasant'.

He opened the door to the drilling chamber and walked through. The tunnel was still very warm, but tolerable. At only five foot wide he had to duck low to walk through it. Khoran actually considered that to be a good thing. It would make defending it child play. He emerged from the tunnel into a gloomy but incredibly open area.

He looked around. He appeared to be on a boulevard. The floor was made from huge slabs of bone coloured material. It appeared to follow around the edge of the dome. He had never seen a space as large as this on a ship. He looked up to the edge of boulevard, past the tall, deactivated lamps. His brain briefly registered the fact that the dome was transparent from this side. But then his mouth fell open in shock.

The marine behind him crawled out of the tunnel and looked around himself. He caught sight of what Khoran was looking at and muttered under his breath. "I don't believe... Is that a...?" Khoran nodded dumbly. It was a storm cloud. And it was pouring rain onto a mountain range.

 **o0o**

Deep in the craftworld's computer banks. A simple computer system ran through a simple list of checks and possible actions it could take. The program had a single goal. To facilitate the safe awakening of the craftworld, and it's inhabitants. The guardian had done her work, to take the ship though that warp safely. Now the reactivation program had to fulfil it's role.

Craftworld Iyanden council awakened? Positive.

Food production facilities activated? Negative.

Food production personnel awakened? Negative.

Council chamber compromised previous to awakening? Positive.

Guardian logged entry? Negative.

Craftworld compromised by external forces? Possible.

Guardian logged interdiction? Negative.

Guardian operational. Possible.

Guardian requested operational support? Negative.

Primary solution; Activate aspect warriors? Negative. Limited operational information.

Secondary solution; Activate senior Autarch? Positive. Begin Prince Yriel reanimation process.


	12. Chapter 12

**Mass Exodus**

 **Chapter 9**

Shepard looked over the full vehicle bay. As of now it was the temporary home to thirty Alliance marines. She had just managed to arrange the camp beds to fit them all in. They had only been allowed to bring aboard their most essential equipment and they had still needed to fill the lab with gear, much to Chakwas' displeasure. Who had personally checked each item going through her med bay for contaminants.

But after some wrangling they had finally managed to get all the gear stowed away, and each marine had a place to sleep. And compared to many places Shepard had had to sleep over her military career, the vehicle bay was positively palatial. And all of the marines seemed happy. It probably helped that an adorable young Quarian kept asking questions and offering her help with any repairs they needed done. Although engineer Adams had already given more than one of them a quick talk about how much damage a blow torch could do should someone take advantage of the slightly naïve Tali.

"Is that really what he said?" Laughed Joker, asking about Adam's talk with a marine named Barkley.

"Yep." Confirmed Shepard. "I never knew Adams had it in him."

"It's always the quiet ones who- Wait. We're here." The blurring star-field disappeared, replaced by a collection of planets. "Yes." Said Joker.

Shepard gave him a confused glance. "What?"

"The stealth system is active. I could just tell you were going to ask."

"I wasn't going to say anything." Muttered Shepard as she walked down past the many computers that kept the ship running.

She entered the CIC. Joining Anderson as he inspected the Theseus system. The various planets of the system all visible, and to scale. Altogether, five planets and no moons. Or at least that's what should have been there.

"What's that?" Asked Anderson. Pointing to a blurry object orbiting Feros.

"It's probably a sensor glitch. " Answered Adams. "If that was an actual ship or anything it would need to be absolutely huge to show up on this map. It would have been logged by Exo-Geni when they colonised the system." He typed something on his tablet. "I'll run a diagnostic as soon as possible."

Anderson nodded. "Ok then. Joker." There was no answer. "Joker!"

"Captain." Answered Joker finally. "I don't think it's a sensor glitch. You guys have got to see this."

 **0**

Shepard stared open mouthed at the truly enormous ship they were flying towards. Adam's estimated it to be around two thousand kilometres long. And five hundred wide. The crew were silent as they took in the scale of the thing. Spires taller the the Citadel was long came into view. Domes that could contain whole cities dotted the bone coloured surface. It was roughly wedged shaped, thicker at the back with a truly tower at the back end. And it thinned to a point at the other.

"Oh damn." Muttered Anderson. "We've got Geth on top of the biggest dome, and Batarians on the side of the same dome."

"What do we do?" Asked Shepard. She knew what she wanted to do, kick some ass. But they were one ship, with only thirty or so marines of board. And according to the report their were over a three hundred enemy ships, both Geth and Batarian. But one ship in particular caught her attention. "Saren's down there." Growled Shepard looking at the familiar outline of the ship that had burned Eden Prime.

"I know." He told her. "I've just contacted Hackett and given him a brief rundown. He'll be sending in task-force Agrippa once it's received support from task-force Wellington."

"And us?" She asked,

"We're to make contact with whoever is on that ship and tell them help is on it's way. This is the Alliances first shot at a first contact. And we're going to get it right." He told her.

Adams interrupted him. "Me and Tali think we've identified a potential point of entry. It's on the bottom of the ship. Looks like some kind of small docking bay slash landing pad. It should be big enough for the _Normandy_ to land."

"How do we get on board?" Asked Anderson.

"Tali may have a solution." Said Adams with a smile. He turned to Tali who gave a shy shrug and wrung her hands.

"Well, every entrance and exit that we can see has a sort of control panel next to it. It's probably so you can open the door if you get locked out." She told them.

"But why haven't the Batarians or the Geth used them?" Asked Shepard.

Adams smiled as Tali gave her answer. "It's probable that the neither the Geth or the Batarians can scan through the material that this ship is made of."

Shepard blinked, confused. "What?"

"Well we can't either." Explained Adams. "Except when we use the quantum scanner."

Shepard held up her hand to stop him speaking. "Hang on. Don't we use those for-"

"Scanning for Shamans yes!" Answered Adams excitedly. "I don't need to tell you how amazing this could be."

"But you do need to tell me." Huffed Tali. Looking between Adams and Shepard.

Shepard answered her with a grin like a school girl. "The energy Shamans like me use to fuel our abilities, we call it Aether, can be picked up using a type of quantum scanner. It's always present in our bodies somehow. And Shamans have been trying for years to build some kind of technology that harnesses Aether. But we've always failed." She looked over at the huge ship. "So not only does this new race have knowledge of Aether, they know how to harness it."

"From what we can tell, Aether is powering the consoles and doors. That indicates ubiquitousness. This could be a whole race with abilities like the Shamans, perhaps a whole race with the ability to resurrect like Shamans." Said Adams who was practically vibrating with excitement. "And their technology is clearly ahead of ours to a stupendous degree. Just imagine what they can tell us?"

 **o0o**

"We picked up another energy surge." An Asari commando told Saren as he stepped into the command centre. "We dispatched ten platforms to sedate and collect whoever is being brought out of stasis. Along with a couple of Krogan and a couple Asari."

"Good." He muttered. "Has Benezia returned?"

"I have." Announced a very fed up sounding Asari matriach. "The Batarians have refused to join forces, their leader is Khoran and he saw right through our ploy."

"Khoran." Hissed Saren. "It makes no matter. They have no way to track the ships inhabitants as they wake up. We'll remove them when necessary."

Saren was interrupted by a loud clunk followed by a repeated, high pitched clanking. "What's that!" Shouted a confused Benezia.

Saren answered in a disinterested tone of voice. "That's the Geth widening the hole they made earlier, so they can lower down armatures and colossi." He turned to leave the small command centre the Geth had set up for the organics. "I'm going to clean up, prepare all your commandos for insertion." Benezia nodded.

 **0**

Saren filled the basin with cold water and added a spoonful of cleansing powder, the water turned a milky white as he did so. He dipped a cloth in the water and thoroughly soaked the synthetic fabric. He withdrew the cloth and crushed it in hand, squeezing out the excess water. Taking care to avoid his eyes he dabbed the damp cloth around his face. He could feel the slightly caustic mixture cleansing his carapace of dirt and potentially harmful bacteria, viruses and parasites. Saren glanced at the large mirror above the basin. He saw a tall, thin figure in black and white clothing, a large hood covering their head and a pale grinning mask. She was holding a long brass coloured staff topped by a frowning face.

In a single rapid movement he spun and drew his gun, pointing it at where he thought the figure was. There was no one. Saren looked up and down. He looked in the three stalls of the communal bathroom, checking them thoroughly. He lifted the mirror off the wall and inspected the back, seeing nothing out of the ordinary he lifted it back on its fixing. He stepped outside the bathroom and asked his guards if they had seen anyone. They hadn't. Grudgingly, Saren admitted to himself he must had imagined it.

He returned to his ablutions. He cleaned his face and hands before emptying the basin and refilling it with clean water. Saren sighed as he dipped his face into the water, rinsing the himself clean. He looked up into the mirror and froze. Staring, dead eyed at him, was Nihlus.

The apparition pointed to the exit wound just below his eye. "Why?" It asked pleadingly.

Saren spun again. Bringing up his pistol he loosed a number of shots. They hit the opposite wall, shattering the ceramic tiles. The two Geth primes that constituted his bodyguard burst in to find Saren staring at the opposite wall in confusion. Saren picked up his cleansing and slapped it into the hand of the closest prime.

"Get that checked for hallucinogens, check the water as well." He marched out of the bathroom. "And get me a doctor." He demanded.

 **o0o**

The _Normandy_ rocked as it landed. Shepard was leading the first team out of the airlock. It was her, Kaiden, Ashley and Tali. It had been decided that taking any more armed and armoured soldier could send the wrong message to the people they were here to help. A long discussion had taken place about what these people might be like. It was decided that they were probably non-violent. A ship that big must have a crew numbering in the billions, more than enough to throw off some Geth and Batarians. _'Either that or the whole crew is asleep'_ Joker had laughed.

Shepard led the group as they made their way towards the huge door. They headed to what Tali assured them was some kind of control panel. Shepard had asked how she and Adams knew this, they said something about circuitry and switches. Shepard had just nodded along as they explained. But now she really wished she had listened as she looked at the panel.

It consisted of a board with three stylised pictograms inlaid using crystal onto it. The first was appeared to be a snake coiling into a spiral, the second was just an empty square. The third was a half circle facing down, above a cross connected to a full circle, all of it was contained in three more circles.

Shepard shrugged, putting her hand over the first rune and she tried to push. The rune didn't move, nothing happened. Except that she felt a presence, just at the edge of her mind, gently probing. She tentatively allowed its entry.

She grimaced as it gripped her mind. The presence pulled her with it into a labyrinthine web of mental corridors. It took her round corners, to and from dead ends. It seemed almost to be searching for something. That instant felt like forever as it returned Shepard to her body. She stepped back, dazed.

"You alright commander?" Asked Ashley over the radio.

"I'm fine." She answered, wishing she could rub her eyes.

Shepard was more hesitant as she tried to push the second rune. Again, it didn't move. But this time Shepard could feel her mind expand slightly, she could almost feel a button beneath her fingers. She tried to push the button mentally and she did indeed feel it depress. She felt the floor rumble beneath her feet and she saw out of the corner of her eye as the door began to rise.

Shepard and her group looked into the room beyond. And saw that it was empty, except for another control panel next to the far wall, which they assumed was another large door. The room was huge, big enough to hold the _Normandy_. Shepard opened a channel to Joker. "Joker?" She asked. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking."

 **0**

A few minutes later the _Normandy_ was safely ensconced inside the airlock. Shepard had inspected the larger, internal control panel. And she had decided she had no idea what any of the runes did, except the ones she had already seen working. She had managed to work out that the open was also the close button, and that the left open/close button worked the outside door. And she assumed that the one of the right worked the internal door, but she had yet to actually try out her theory.

She had been watching the inner door warily. Expecting it to open at any moment, revealing the disgruntled owners of the ship. But it didn't open till she activated the crystal rune. She and the others were almost knocked over by the blast of air that rushed in and filled the airlock. After the artificial wind had died down Shepard looked into the room beyond.

It was incredibly gloomy, the only source of light was the lamps on the _Normandy_. But the room appeared to be some kind of vehicle bay. Each of the vehicles in the room was sitting on a cradle which supported the two 'wings' as well it's the main bulk. On top was a turret sporting two long guns. Shepard was about to step up to the closest one and marvel at it's beautiful curving chassis when she saw them.

At the very back of the room was a tall figure. Shepard couldn't quite make them out. But they were clearly tall, wearing some kind of cloak and wielding a long staff or spear. They were walking towards Shepard and her group with menacing purpose.

 **o0o**

 _Some hours earlier, in a different part of the craftworld:_

"Whoa he's hot!" Said Malees, looking at the guy they were here to collect. He was standing in a beam of light, completely frozen. Wearing dark blue, almost black armour that seemed to mimic the muscles of his body. The large shoulder pads poked through the arm holes on his long sleeveless jacket. Although the feature Malees was actually commenting were his pronounced cheek bones and long sharp chin. His long brown hair that had been pulled into a pony tail that trailed down his back. They couldn't tell what his eyes were like due to that fact that one was closed and the other was covered by some kind of half visor.

"He's not bad." Agreed Siobhan. "Although I am attracted to power." She turned to watch a Geth draw some liquid into a syringe.

"Huh?" Asked Malees. "How do you figure he's got power?"

"The spear. It's clearly a symbol of office, no one uses spears as actual weapons." Answered Siobhan.

The Geth with the syringe positioned himself just outside the beam of light, poised to strike. The stasis field fell with a harsh crackle. And the hand holding the syringe shot forward. The man blurred as he stepped back out of it's way. Siobhan couldn't even follow the movements of his arm as it grabbed the Geth. His silver spear flashed as it cut the Geth into two chunks that clattered to the floor.

"Get down on your knees!" Shouted Malees nervously, having raised her gun and pointed it at the man. When he didn't move Siobhan pointed her own at him, as did the nine Geth and two Krogan surrounding him.

He looked around with a small smile. Then he leapt. Siobhan failed to track his movements as he vaulted over her. But she did feel the Krogan opposite her fill her body with bullets. As she fell to her knees she heard a series of slicing noises and the sound of metal being shorn in half, all accompanied by hails of gunfire. She looked up to see one the Krogan get cut clean down the middle by the man as he leapt over the tall mercenary. He arrested his momentum by stabbing Malees in the chest as she was reloading. He silenced the last gun by cutting the last Geth in half with an almost casual slice with his spear. Whoever this guy was hadn't been hit by a single bullet, his coat didn't even have any holes in it.

He stepped over to Siobhan. Over pools of blood and Geth conductive fluid. She was about to beg for mercy when he decapitated her.

 **0**

Yriel surveyed the results of his swift but brutal action. ' _It's going to take forever to get the smell of blood out of my floor.'_ He thought. But his mind quickly turned it's attention to the fact that there were aliens aboard the craftworld. He stepped over to his personal console and placed his hand on the main interface crystal, and he began to scan through the log.

A few moments later he had all the information he needed. The guardian was still around, but either hadn't noticed the intruders or hadn't managed to log their presence. The fact he had been awoken proved that the council wasn't able to act for whatever reason. It was clear that the Aspect Warriors were not active. Somebody had considered this possible scenario, and had decided this required subtlety. The scalpel of a thinking Autarch, not the hammer of Khaine's finest killers.

"Observation." He said to himself before taking a step towards the door.

He promptly fell over. He curled in on himself as his whole body became racked with pain. The very core of his being screamed in agony. His very soul begged for him to let himself die, to end the torture. The sweet song of oblivion called to him. He ignored it, knowing that death would not be a release for him. He was damned, the price of saving his home.

With titanic effort Yriel stood up, dragging the Spear of Twilight with him. "Observation." He said to himself again. And he willed the pain away.

 **0**

Yriel looked down from the ridge at the three machines as they marched in a line across the plain. The four legged things were surprisingly ugly, despite the smooth lines and curves. They just weren't a patch on Eldar design. From his vantage point he could see them heading towards the guardian. The arrogance of these machines, thinking they could harm a wraithlord so easily. A quick scan with the Eye of Wrath had proven they had no way of even scratching the wraithbone construct. He had considered going down and warning the guardian. But he would only be putting himself at risk for no reason.

He turned and looked across to the pseudo mezzanine at the very edge of the habitat. The Eye of Wrath magnified across the huge distance showing the startlingly ugly faces of the other group of aliens who were setting up some kind of base camp outside the whole they had dug through the wall of the craftworld. A lot of people were going to suffer for these insults.

He heard an explosion behind him but he didn't turn back. Because an emotionless voice had sounded in his ear. "Logged. Failed use of external two way communication system six one six six." He turned to the grav bike he had borrowed and started it up, when he heard the same voice. "Logged. Use of emergency external airlock control six one six six." He kicked the bike into it's highest gear and sped off towards the vehicle bay.

 **0**

He made impressive time down the internal highway, although it was easy when there was nothing on it except him. But he was still too late. More aliens had made it on to the craftworld, his home. He was going to gut these interlopers and burn their corpses in the engines of his ship. He stalked up to them. A group of four aliens. He couldn't see what they looked like, but they were all basically humanoid.

He slowed when they lowered their weapons. The lead alien holstered theirs completely and it began bleating at him in it's own language. The advanced translation systems in the Eye made short work of the crude language. "Don't worry. We're here to help you. I officially greet you on behalf of the Systems Alliance and the Citadel." They stopped to remove their helmet.

Yriel stopped, utterly confused. She was Human, and she wasn't trying to kill him, despite clearly belonging to an interplanetary community. He thought all of them were under Imperial yoke. "What?" He asked, in her own language.

It was then that the spear made it's presence known once more and Yriel doubled over and screamed in agony. _'That is getting worse.'_ He thought. He failed to remain standing, and he heard at the edge of his hearing the stamp of boots as they ran to him. _'Ah.'_ He thought _'They are going to kill me.'_ So he was incredibly confused when he heard the Human woman ask ask. "What's wrong?! Can we help you?!"

He looked up at her confused. He needed to get to the bottom of this. "Do you recognise my race?" He asked urgently.

"No." She answered, clearly confused by the question.

He tried to stand, supporting himself on the Spear. "How large is the Systems Alliance?"

She looked to her companions, who shrugged. "It covers nearly a sixth of the galaxy."

Yriel grinned despite the pain. _'It worked. We're in another reality.'_

The woman continued as Yriel stood, trying to ignore the pain. "I don't wish to alarm you, given the state you're in. But you must have hundreds of Batarians and Geth running all over your ship by now." She told him. "We're here to help you get rid of them."

Yriel brushed off her attempts to help him stand and regarded her carefully. A plan formed in his mind. He gave a small smile as he spoke to her. "I welcome your assistance. I am Yriel, Autarch of Iyanden." He bowed stiffly. "I am glad you're here, I would not be able to liberate the craftworld on my own." He lied. _'No use risking Eldar lives.'_ He thought. _'Not when there are Mon-Keigh to die for me.'_


	13. Chapter 13

**Mass Exodus**

 **Chapter 10**

"So." Began Shepard. "Who are you?" She asked.

Yriel gave her an annoyed look. "I told you. I am Prince Yriel, Autarch of Iyanden."

"Sorry. I should be more specific. What race are you? What's an Autarch? What is Iyanden and where is it?" She asked.

"And what are you prince of?" Asked Tali excitedly.

Yriel sighed. "I shall answer your questions soon. But we have more pressing matters don't you think." Shepard could tell Yriel was used to giving orders, and having them obeyed.

She nodded. "You're right. We only have thirty marines on board the _Normandy_ at the moment. We'll be sending them to scout out the Batarians, ready for when the rest of our forces arrive."

Yriel nodded and began walking towards the door he came through. "A surgical strike to remove their command structure would be better." He commented. "How would your 'marines' best achieve this?"

"I'm not sure we could." Admitted Shepard hesitantly. She was having to take a quick pace to keep up with Yriel's long strides. "We estimate roughly five hundred or more Batarian soldiers. We only have thirty marines."

"That's only twenty five to one."

Shepard's mouth fell open in shock. "ONLY twenty five to one."

Yriel raised an eyebrow. "I have seen them, they don't seem that dangerous."

"They are." Shepard told him. "Perhaps if we could secure some reinforcements from your own crew?"

"That is not possible." Said Yriel quickly. "I am the only member of the crew who is currently awake."

Shepard stopped short. Yriel continued through the round door into the corridor beyond, before stopping himself and looking back confused. "Why is the whole crew asleep?" Asked Shepard.

"Not asleep. Specifically, in stasis." He answered snappishly. "Shall we carry on."

Shepard had had enough of this guys attitude. "No! Not until you answer some questions. One; What is this ship? Two; Who exactly are you? Three; Why can't we wake up the crew? And four; Where are we going?"

Yriel muttered something under his breath. "Okay then. First; This ship is the craftworld Iyanden. It is what some races refer to as a generation ship, a greater explanation will have to wait. Second; I am Iyanden's grand admiral and most experienced military leader. Third; We cannot awaken the crew because the invaders have found a way to track when they are being taken out of stasis and have been capturing them during the ensuing disorientation. I only evaded capture due to my condition, I always feel like I'm about to die so a little extra mild confusion was nothing. Fourth; I had three objectives when I awoke. They were to assess the tactical situation, then secure reinforcements and finally, to check our cargo. I have done the first two." With that Yriel turned on his heels and walked briskly down the passageway.

"What's the cargo?" Asked Shepard exasperated.

"Children." Called Yriel over his shoulder.

 **o0o**

"The prince is awoken." Announced Celsys. "He will lead our hero to the innocent."

Isendad looked up at her and smiled. Everything was falling into place. He looked over to where Fueban and Lokas were sitting. both were grinning heartily. "Tell these invaders a tale. Tell them of the Yignir, and their betrayal." The two masters rose as one, and left to gather their troupes.

 **o0o**

 _Some time earlier_

Oladra walked across the fields. And she considered the grass. She was aware of the grass swaying around her feet. But only in the most rudimentary sense. In the way a man is aware of the air he breathes. He cannot feel it or see it, but he is aware of it. In the same way that she was aware of the passage of time, she was aware of it's effects, but she could not perceive it in the same way any other mortal did. Oladra considered that if she had a mouth she would smile in contentment.

Then she felt the missiles hit her in the face.

Oladra turned to where the missle must have come from and saw nothing. She looked differently, checking every aspect of her wraith-sight. Another round of missiles smacked into her head and chest. Then she saw it. A glowing, rolling machine spirit, inhabiting three largish bodies, all shaped like horses. Oladra didn't know where they had come from. But she was going to _end_ them!

 **0**

The three colossus watched as the Titan looked around confused at what had hit it. They took this as proof the Titan could not see the Geth, for reasons unknown. The Geth felt it was safe to sit at range and loose rocket after rocket into the automaton until it was reduced to dust. Had they been organic the three colossus would have been surprised when the Titan crossed the sixty foot gap between them in less than four seconds.

The Titan's first punch hit the central colossus square in it's central eye. It's head disintegrated with the force of the impact. The Titan's fist demolished it's way through the colossus' neck reducing the Geth war machine to so much scrap metal. Oladra swung her arm round. Down through the back of the left colossus, which shattered into lumps of wreckage. The final colossus started to round on the wraithlord, who kicked it in the side. The foot hit the colossus' power core, which exploded wreathing Oladra in flame.

The Geth reached consensus in record time. ' _We underestimated the Titan.'_

 **0**

Oladra fumed with anger. Her craftworld had been invaded by soulless machines. Right under her nose. She stomped off towards the armoury. If they were going to invade her home, they would not find it's only defender wanting.

 **o0o**

"What do you mean children?" Asked Shepard for what felt the hundredth time. And still Yriel refused to answer. He continued to walk ahead of her silently. The only action he would take would be to stop at a corner to allow Shepard and her squad to catch up to him. Ensuring they wouldn't get lost in the dark, winding tunnels. Shepard considered herself lucky she had managed to inform Anderson of the situation before she had lost radio contact.

After what felt like a considerable period of time Yriel stopped in front of a small circular door. He turned to Shepard. "You can go no further." He told her in a tone that brooked no argument. He passed his hand over the activation crystal and opened the door. Before he stepped through the door he said over his shoulder, in an offhand way. "Do not roam. You will get lost down here." He stepped into the total black of the room beyond and the door snapped shut behind him.

"'Do not roam.' Who the hell says that?" Commented Ashley.

Shepard stared at the now closed door. "What does he mean children?" She asked no one in particular.

"I assume he means, well, children." Answered Kaiden with a small smirk.

"Yeah." She continued. "It's the way he says it though. I know people are protective of children. But when he says the word 'children' it sounds like he's talking about the precious thing he could imagine."

"Aren't children the most precious thing _you_ could imagine." Admonished Kaiden lightly.

Shepard 'ughed' and rolled her eyes. "Well yeah people say that, but they never actually mean it. Especially not about other peoples children."

Ashley laughed. "I take it you're not a fan of children Commander."

Shepard sighed. "My predecessor would be ashamed to hear me say this, but... They're just so short! And loud! And smelly! And they're just! Arg!"

"Your predecessor liked kids?" Asked Ashley.

Shepard nodded. "He had eighty three children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren."

Kaiden whistled. "How much can you remember about your previous lives?" He asked as he sat down by a nearby wall.

"I can't remember anything really. I can remember faces when I see them, I could tell you when and where he was born, where he spent his life. I can remember things he learnt." Shepard paused, a brief smile grazed her lips. "I can remember how happy I, he was when he married Glen. But I can't actually _remember_ anything about his life. Do you see what I mean?"

Kaiden considered this for a moment before admitting. "No. Sorry."

"Ummm Shepard?" Interrupted Tali uncertainly. Shepard looked over at Tali who was pointing to the screen on her mask. Crawling across it was a huge white spider. "Help." Implored Tali.

Shepard leaned over with a smile and delicately lifted the spindly creature off of the mask. Shepard looked at the spider in the light of her shoulder torch, and her mouth fell open in shock. The light passed through the creature, revealing it's purely crystalline body. "That is incredible." She muttered dumbly.

The door behind her snapped open to reveal Yriel. And a small, blonde haired girl in a long blue and yellow dress, hiding behind his leg. "This is Isana. And this has a perfectly logical explanation." Yriel told them.

 **0**

Yriel stepped into the vaulted chamber. He scanned the room, looking for problems and saw none. He turned around and placed his hand over the rooms control panel. His mind slipped easily into the system of rooms and stasis pods that held the craftworlds most precious cargo; children. He carefully checked each pod for any malfunctions. But as he checked the last pod, he grimaced. It had malfunctioned. The reanimation circuit was about to fail.

He spun on his heels and rushed to the pod, the last one to have been installed. _'Clearly been rushed.'_ He thought angrily. Yriel didn't look at the pods occupant as he checked for any outside influence that may have caused the malfunction. He didn't see one, but he considered his options. He needed to get the child out of the pod before the stasis became completely permanent. If he used the emergency release on the pod it would attract the attention of the invaders, which he couldn't risk. But he didn't see how he could break the stasis field otherwise.

Pain stabbed through the back of his mind, triggering a brainwave. He looked down at the Spear. To break the stasis field on one of these pods just took a lot of energy. The Spear of Twilight was said to contained the power of a dying star. More than enough energy.

He stabbed the stasis field.

 **0**

"And that is why Isana will be with us for the foreseeable future." Said Yriel having finished his explanation. "And why the Spear is now a very impressive stick." He held up the Spear of Twilight, the blade of which had clearly shattered. "I'm actually rather surprised it worked." He commented.

The girl tugged on Yriel's coat. He looked down at her with a smile. "Honoured Yriel." She pointed at Tali. "Why is that lady trapped?" She asked. Shepard's eyes widened. She looked over at Tali who was looking away in a mixture of nerves, embarrassment and confusion.

"Well, answer the Lady Isana!" Demanded Yriel. He didn't appear to be joking around.

Tali lent down to sit on her haunches and look Isana in the eye. "My race have a very weak immune system, if we don't wear these suits all the time we could get very ill and die."

Isana stepped forward nervously. "That's sad." She muttered before wrapping her arms around Tali's neck. Hugging her tightly. Tali nodded as she hugged the small girl back.

Shepard looked at Yriel. Who's jaw had clenched tightly. "Honoured?" She asked.

Yriel glanced to Shepard quickly, keeping Isana in his line of sight. "It's a term of address, used for those senior to yourself." He looked sternly at Isana. "Usually I am addressed as Honoured Autarch." He admonished her.

"Sorry Honoured Autarch." She apologised. Isana grasped Tali's hand as she stood. "Can I stay with the trapped lady? I like her."

Yriel narrowed his eyes a fraction, almost glaring at the nervous Quarian. Tali began to babble. "Well, my name is Tali, and I, um... I'm sure I could take care of her and, keep her safe. And... um."

Yriel stepped up to her. "You will." He said dangerously. "The only reason I am allowing this is because keeping her safe with me would mean taking her into an active warzone." He knelt down to speak to Isana. "You know how to call for my help?" He asked. She smiled and nodded. He stood and turned to Tali. "Very well. You are responsible for her safety. If she gets hurt, I will inflict upon you every injury she suffers."

Tali gulped, and nodded. Yriel turned and started walking down the corridor, leading them back to the _Normandy_. Shepard stared daggers into the back of his head.

 **o0o**

Benezia stepped off the platform just before it hit the earth with a loud thud. Dust and soil flew out from under the heavy metal slab, blowing past Benezia as her cloak billowed around her. She was joined by thirty of Saren's mercenary's, mostly Asari but a few were Krogan. Benezia looked at the recording of the Titan on her omni tool. If they had to fight that, it would be a slaughter. The monster was faster and stronger than anything that size had any right to be, the prospect of having to fight it frightened her.

But luckily she wasn't going to. She was being sent to deal with the Batarians. Which would be Saren's job, but he was sure someone was messing with his brain so he had decided Benezia should handle all his jobs until given the all clear. Lazy, over-imaginative fool.

The four eyed slave traders had been getting braver every hour, getting closer and closer to the Geth's drop-off point. They seemed to be hopping forward, from vantage point to vantage point. Benezia never liked Batarians. She was going to enjoy crushing them.

 **0**

Khoran looked down at the screen. The red bar swept round, revealing the small cluster of blips that were hiding just over the ridge. Five of them. Some were at the edge of the rise, presumably looking over the edge and through the forest, observing the forward base Khoran stood in.

From the Batarians vantage point on the mezzanine/boulevard they had seen that the terrain inside the dome followed a simple pattern. The centre of the dome was mountainous. Three tall, thin peaks dominated the view, their tops shrouded in white cloud. At the base of the mountains were several miles of rolling green hills. Eventually these levelled out into huge grassy plains, only occasionally marred by a ridge or gorge. From so far away it was possible to see the steady incline that presumably funnelled water from the plains into the verdant forest that formed a ring in the dome. And at the very outer edge of the forest was a thin ring of bogs and marshes where the incline reached it's lowest point. After that it turned up sharply. The terrain becoming a steep rocky cliff almost a hundred feet tall, the top of which was the edge of the boulevard.

Khoran had placed his main base of operations just outside the tunnel the engineers had dug. And after placing a number of telescopes and scanners on the edge of the boulevard Khoran had personally led the first foray into the marshes and forests beyond. Establishing his forward base in a small clearing only a mile or two away from the boulevard.

"How long have they been there?" He asked the man operating the scanner.

"Not long. Just after we got here." He answered, adjusting the screen slightly.

Khoran rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Hmmm?"

 **0**

The commando looked intently at her omni tool readout. They had been following the Batarians for almost an hour. They were clearly aware they were being tracked, their actions made that perfectly clear. Her group of five trackers had lost them for a while before a stroke of luck caused them to cross paths again.

They had tracked them from the flat grassy plains to a dense forest. She and her companions had marvelled at the fact a ship had a forest on it, even if it did feel lifeless. The lack of birdsong and even insect life made the whole place feel dead. And she couldn't shake the feeling she was being watched.

 **0**

"They know they're being tracked admiral." Said the marine over the radio. Khoran scrunched up his face in thought. They had been at this for almost an hour, tracking the enemy through the forest and down into a valley, that conveniently led all the way to the three mountains in the centre of the dome. The lookouts had assured Khoran that there was nobody on the tops of the valley waiting in ambush, waiting to turn it into a shooting gallery. Khoran was still suspicious."Admiral they're running now, if we try, we might catch them." Said the marine on the radio. From the soft crunching in the background it was clear he was already chasing his prey.

Something clicked in Khoran's head "No!" He shouted suddenly. "You're not going to catch anything, you're being led."

The marine gave a resigned sigh. "Yes admiral. Return-CONTACT!"

The distinctive sounds of gunfire exploded across the radio. The shouts and cries of Batarian soldiers was accompanied by chilling laughs, which only grew in their apparent amusement as Khoran heard his men scream one by one as they were killed by their attackers. Suddenly the only sound was the 'huff huff' of a man running for his life. Khoran could only grimace as he heard the man's dying scream, followed by a heavy clump as he fell to the floor.

Khoran recognised the dull fumbling of someone picking up a radio. "Well we are impressed." Said a man's sing song voice over the radio. "The other lot haven't even considered that yet."

Khoran growled. "What do you mean 'other lot'?"

The voice giggled, sending chills up Khoran's spine. "That's a very nice base you have there. Be a shame if anything were to, happen to it."

The radio cut off.

"Admiral!" Yelled the officer in charge of the scanner. "We have a large group of contacts coming from the south!"

 **o0o**

Oladra stepped out of the armoury. She gripped the wraithsword in her hand. It's weight reassured her, as did the bright lance on her left shoulder and the shuriken cannon on her right. On each wrist she had attached a flamer thrower. In short, she was loaded for bear. A walking engine of death, ready and willing to unleash the hideous wrath of the Eldar upon her foes.


	14. Chapter 14

**Mass Exodus**

 **Chapter 11**

The mass relay flashed as the Destiny Ascension entered the system. The ships captain, Matriarch Lidanya, was not especially happy with her current assignment. She was captain of the Citadel Fleets flagship. Not a taxi. Ferrying officials about was for people who didn't have better things to do. Like guard the Citadel from the Geth, who are being led by a rogue spectre. But she had her orders.

Lidanya gave the order for the main screen to show the new vessels. She was immediately impressed. Not just for their scale but also their design. Their sweeping curves did make them look quite beautiful. And their guns made them look deadly. But their size really was impressive. The cruse liners next to them were utterly dwarfed by the huge ships.

 **0**

Or'es had to walk swiftly to keep up with Korless. Even a slow pace by Kroot standards was a quick one by Tau standards due to the huge strides that the naturally long legged race could take. Korless hummed to himself, a strange murmuring, clicking noise that set Or'es slightly on edge. She opened her mouth to speak, but didn't say a word. At sixty Korless was not old by Kroot standards but he definitely was by Tau ones. And even though Or'es had known the Shaper for a long time, before he even became the leader of his tribe, she still felt the difference in age and experience. Although she considered herself his friend, sort of.

When they had first met, Or'es was just a Shas'La on her first real campaign. They were fighting some kind of alien infestation on a world that had just been folded into the Empire. It was a horrible fight. It seemed as though any equipment they brought with them broke down, any rations they had rotted to nothing if left alone to long. Korless was the son of the Kroot Shaper leading the hunting packs that were assisting the Fire Caste. The Shas'El in charge was simply jealous of the success the Kroot were having in the tunnels of the former Imperial world where the enemy had made their home. Or'es could see how they weren't getting the supplies they needed, and were being punished when they attempted to get them via 'other means'.

Or'es had made numerous comments to the Ethereal caste attachés about how the Kroot were being ignored and she was told the truth, the Kroot weren't requesting any. She had angrily retorted _"Well then the Water Caste are doing their jobs wrong!"_ Upon being reprimanded for having the wrong attitude she was asked if she could do a better job than the Water Caste adjuncts in charge of dealing with the Kroot. She angrily retorted that _"Yes I could!"_ So she was given the chance to prove it.

The next day she was told to report to the Kroot barracks. She was informed that she was now responsible for securing any and all resources the Kroot would need. She was advised that when meeting the Shaper she should be calm and reverential to him, noted signs of respect among Kroot tribesmen. When she presented herself to the Shaper it was Korless who laughed about how _"The so called Fire Caste, who lack true fire!"_ Or'es promptly forgot all the advice she had been given and punched Korless in the gut. She lost the ensuing fist fight rather handedly. But afterwards the Shaper did ask her to secure food and water for the Kroot tribes, as well as ammunition for their rifles. She and the Water Caste were rather confused by the whole event.

Over the next few weeks Or'es spent more time with the Kroot, even fighting with them on occasion, and she unravelled the mystery. While showing deference was sign of respect for **intra** -tribal relations for **inter** -tribal relations it was a clear sign of weakness. The Kroot saw the Water Caste members as weak, and simply unable to secure the supplies they needed. Whereas Or'es had shown she was willing to fight, even against those she could not defeat. They saw her as someone who was willing to fight for them. But more importantly she had secured the friendship and respect of Korless.

Over the years as Or'es had climbed the ranks she had done so with the help and advice of an experienced warrior and leader in Korless. When she had become a Shas'O and was put in charge of defending the Extra-dimensional Research Task-group she had fought to have Korless as part of her force, valuing his knowledge and advice.

She had known him for many years and knew when he was annoyed. At the moment he was positively outraged. "HE CANNOT SERIOUSLY BE ASKING US TO BOARD AN ENEMY SHIP WITHOUT ANY MEANS OF DEFENDING OURSELVES!?"

Or'es spoke in a reasonable tone of voice. "Well you can't carry six foot, bladed rifles on a retrofitted civilian transport. We have to be diplomatic-"

"Diplomatic!" Yelled Korless. "You Tau fall just short of letting yourselves get stabbed in your efforts to be diplomatic."

Or'es sighed. "We can't expect these aliens to just let us take-"

Korless interrupted again. "Yes we can! They would understand our need to defend ourselves. They are not fools! Your people need to stop acting so arrogant Or'es."

"What do you mean 'arrogant'?" She asked.

Korless stopped and looked at Or'es. "The Tau are an arrogant people. You act like you know all there is to know, and that you have sculpted the perfect society. And you talk to other races like they know nothing, that they are just waiting to join your 'Greater Good'. But you are a young, naive race with much to learn about the universe. Especially the new one we find ourselves in. And you need to learn how fragile your position really is."

 **o0o**

Lidanya waited in her ready room, looking over the latest reports. Apparently the four different castes were being distributed fairly evenly amongst the cruise liners and her own ship, and they would have enough space. Just. It's going to be a massive squeeze to fit nearly twenty-four thousand people on a handful of cruise ships. They were going to be packed in like Quarians.

She read the last part of the report again. Apparently Or'es (their chief of security or something) had reconsidered her decision to not allow the Fire Caste to carry their weapons. And apparently she failed to inform the Ethereal about the change, and the Ethereal was not happy. Lidanaya made a note of that, she would definitely inform the Council about that.

 **o0o**

Tevos looked through the huge windows that protected the council chamber from the harsh emptiness of space. She was watching the Citadels mass relay, waiting for the _Destiny Ascension_ to appear in a flash of light. She was awaiting perhaps the most important meeting in her political career. Visitors from another galaxy, another universe! And they had advanced technology, very advanced.

The relay flashed. And the _Destiny Ascension_ appeared.

 **0**

The three councillors waited in the sparse room they had chosen to meet the Tau representatives. They had decided not to use the large chamber, they felt that looming over the Tau would be a bad idea. Intimidation tactics worked well when dealing with Volus or Elcor. But that might hurt them when negotiating with a race who had a dedicated warrior caste, especially one that they wanted to impress.

The intercom buzzed just as Valern and Sparatus stepped into the room. She looked at them and nodded towards the intercom. They nodded back as she pushed the talk button. An Asari on the other end said. "The three Tau delegates are here."

"Show them through." Tevos told her.

The three councillors seated themselves quickly. And looked towards the door which opened to reveal the three Tau. One was dressed in red robes, another in blue and the final was dressed in multicoloured robes. But Tevos had been expecting this, somewhat.

"Greetings on behalf of the Citadel races. We are the Citadel Council, I am councillor Tevos. This councillor Sparatus and councillor Valern. Please have a seat." She motioned to the five seats arranged on the other side of the long table in the room.

"That you." Answered lead Tau. "I am Aun'Vre Prinol. You may call me Prinol." He motioned to the Tau in red robes. "This is Shas'O Or'es." He motioned to the other Tau. "This is Por'Vre Ke'lshan Tsu'bur. I would introduce Kor'O T'olku Fralom and Fio'O Firir, but they are indisposed."

"Yes, we have read the reports" Said Sparatus. "We hope that the test flight is successful."

"So do we." Smiled Prinol. The councillors smiled back. They were joined by Tsu'bur, but not Or'es. This did not go unnoticed by Tevos. But she did her best not to react visibly. Prinol continued. "We appreciated that you were able to keep us away from the public eye. I doubt they are reacting well to our appearance, especially given how bizarre our origin is."

Tevos nodded. "The public have yet to be informed of your existence, although we will have to make an announcement soon. But I imagine they will take the news quite well."

Prinol smiled wider. "We hope so. I'll have someone draft a message or speech we can deliver to the public."

"We will assist in any way we can." Said Valern.

"Any assistance will be gratefully received." Thanked Tsu'bur.

Tevos looked at Prinol intently. "According to our reports you showed great interest in joining the Citadel?" She asked.

"Yes." Answered Prinol, his expression turning serious. "It seems like a most worthy venture, much like our empire in our own universe, except we have not always had the luxury of being diplomatic."

"Empire?" Questioned Sparatus.

Prinol sighed. "There is not an altogether appropriate term in your language, the closest is Greater Good. We sought to unify our home galaxy under a single banner of co-operation and mutual respect. Alas some were not receptive to such a goal."

"I cannot imagine why." Said Tevos in genuine confusion. "What happened to those races that refused?" She asked.

Or'es answered. "Sometimes violence is the only option left."

Tsu'bur spoke quickly after her. "Not that we seek to be violent. But sometimes we must use distasteful methods to liberate an oppressed population, for example."

The councillors nodded in understanding. Tevos spoke again. "Well I think we would be happy to invite you to join the Citadel." She smiled at Prinol's delighted reaction. "We could easily provide you with a planet to colonise, and assist you in constructing your first settlements."

Tsu'bur raided a hairless eyebrow. "I assume these services would not be free." He said with a knowing smile.

Valern raised a placating hand. "We mean no disrespect. But to join amongst the Citadel races requires give and take. As a member of the Citadel you would have a certain level of military protection. And economic stability. But we must be sure you will not abuse these services by taking more than your fair share."

As Valern paused Sparatus began to speak. "We accept that asking you to immediately become a galactic, economic powerhouse would be impossible. And it would be unreasonable to ask such an advanced species to become a client race. So we will help you colonise a planet and in return, well. What are you willing to offer us?"

Prinol turned to Tsu'bur and began to whisper intently. Occasionally Tsu'bur would whisper back. Or'es looked remarkably put out at not being included in the conversation. Finally Prinol turned back. "We would be happy to share our scientific knowledge with you." Tevos beamed. None of them had expected something so monumental, and definitely not so quickly. "But." Continued Prinol. "We want a seat on the Council."

The three councillors shared dubious glances. "That would not sit well with many of the Citadel races." Said Sparatus. "And you would be required to dedicate some of your military vessels to the Citadel fleet. Among other, economic obligations which you would not be able to fulfil."

Prinol considered this "Well. Once we are settled on whatever planet that is chosen, we can offer fifty percent of our military vessels to your fleet. As well as assist in retrofitting your existing ships with our ion weaponry."

The councillors considered this for a moment. "We would need to discuss it in private." Tevos told them. Prinol nodded in understanding. Tevos was about to speak again when her omni-tool bleeped. As did Sparatus' and Valern's. She knew it was urgent, only the most important messages would announce themselves during this meeting. Her eyes widened as she read it.

"How did we not hear about this?" Asked Sparatus, glaring at Valern.

"I do not know." Answered the confused Salarian. "They must have performed these manoeuvres in the last few hours or so."

"What has happened?" Asked Prinol.

Tevos answered. "I can't say much, but Humanity, one of the Citadel races, has engaged in a major battle with the Batarian Hegemony."

"They are a non-member race. If I remember correctly." Said Or'es.

Tevos pinched the bridge of her nose. "Yes. There had always been tension between the Systems Alliance and the Batarian Hegemony. I suppose this conflict was inevitable."

"Will you not be acting as peace keepers?" Asked Tsu'bur.

"If we can." Muttered Tevos gravely.

 **o0o**

 _A few Hours Earlier_

Admiral Hackett looked re-read the message Anderson had sent him. It was short, it had to be to avoid being detected. The _Normandy's_ capacity for sending and receiving messages secretly was impressive. But it had limits.

What he was reading was unbelievable. A new race of people with Shaman like abilities, and wondrous technology. And they needed help from the Systems Alliance. It sounded to good to be true. Which meant it probably was. But according to this message the Batarians had only two hundred or so ships. Hackett would be going in with almost a thousand top of the line ships. He turned to Shaman Vrenovsky. And he would be getting advice from the man who had been both Admiral Nimitz and Admiral Nelson.

Hackett had a bad feeling about this.

"Plot a course to the Theseus system." He ordered.

 **0**

The flash of blue and white receded, revealing Theseus' bright red star. And the huge ship orbiting Feros. Hackett's fleet arranged itself into a huge wedge two ships deep and aimed itself at the so called 'Craftworld'. They didn't expect the Batarians to try and fight them. Their superior numbers and ship technology guaranteed them a victory, even if the Geth were working with them. And by all accounts they weren't. Hackett didn't expect an easy victory, he wasn't that foolish. But he was quietly confident of one.

 **o0o**

The _Righteous Indignation_ waited. Khoran had ordered Gorak to hide the fleet underneath the alien ship, to not even try to fight the Geth. Gorak reflected that the design of the alien ship made this easy. The huge spires and domes on the underside of the ship had made avoiding lines of fire almost trivially easy.

When Gorak had detected the Human fleet enter the system the temptation had been to launch an attack. But Khoran had assured him it would be suicide, and pointless. They had a fleet of over six hundred ships on their way here. All loaded down with weaponry and men, ready to take this huge ship by force. And they would appear right behind the Human fleet, right where they could smash them into dust.

 **o0o**

"What's that?" Asked Nihlus. Blood dripped from the hole in his head down onto Saren's shoulder. "Some kind of report?"

Saren looked even harder at the data pad, fervently ignoring the figment of his imagination. His doctor had assured him he was sane, that there was nothing wrong with him physically. And apparently his cleansing powder had nothing wrong with it at all. So Saren had demanded that all the food he had been eating be checked. And until the cause of his hallucinations could be found he had removed himself from command.

"Wow, that's incredible." Muttered the Not-Nihlus.

Saren realised he hadn't actually read anything on the screen. He began to pay proper attention to the words in his hands. And as he read, his mouth fell open in shock. The Geth scouts ships had found and scanned a number of smaller vessels in the huge hanger bays of the ship. Most of the technology was completely beyond the Geth. But the little that they had understood was a bank of plasma weapons. Much more advanced than the Geth's own. Maybe more advanced than Sovereign.

Saren looked over the design of the ship they had been attached to. From the size of them, and the position. They were just point defence. For one of the smallest ships in that docking bay. If the main guns of the larger ships were only a fraction as powerful as their size suggested they were. They would be more than a match for a Reaper. Possibly a match for whole fleets of Reapers.

Saren felt something flutter in his chest. Something he hadn't truly felt for a long time. Not since he had first found Sovereign and discovered the Reapers. He knew that there was no way to fight them, all the fleets in the Citadel and beyond would be scythed down like wheat. But now, he felt, hope. Perhaps, he could get these aliens to help. Perhaps, they could destroy the Reapers. But Perhaps not. They would never help him, he had imprisoned their leaders, drugged them into a stupor. And with Sovereign looking over his shoulder, he might as well not even try.

He looked up at Nihlus. Who looked down at him with a pitying expression. "You're not even going to try. Are you." Saren couldn't meet his gaze. "So I won't have died for nothing?" He asked accusingly. "I would rather have died for nothing, and have you try to fight the coming dark. Or are you truly the monster everyone says you are?"

"Sir." Announced a disembodied voice, from his comm. "You wanted to be kept updated?"

"Yes."

"A huge Systems Alliance fleet has arrived in the system. Almost a thousand ships. Sovereign has taken almost all the Geth ships to engage them."

Saren looked up at Nihlus.

 **o0o**

The airlock door slid open, revealing the stars as they trailed across the black sky. Oladra stepped through the door, into airless vacuum of space. The weight of her considerable armament lifted from her shoulders. She saw the inky blackness of void twist and swirl with her movement. She turned around and began her ascent. To the nest of the soulless machines. She would cleanse them from her home. With sword, and fire.

 **o0o**

The engine room of _The Raised Spear_ was clogged with silence. Firir looked around at the consoles as they flashed and blinked out messages to no one. Firir was the only one in the room. One of only a hundred or so people on the whole ship. It was the same on _The Gathered Fruit_. The rest of the crew and passengers having been evacuated. Firir wasn't sure how he felt about that, this whole situation seemed to good to be true.

The communicator on his belt fizzled into life. "Firir. Are you ready?" Asked the disembodied voice of Fralom.

"Yes." He answered. It wasn't as if he was even needed, they were only going to activate the first stage of the gravitic drive. If this worked they probably wouldn't even need to use their full FTL system ever again. "All systems are green." He said into his communicator. "Activate gravitic drive system when ready." Evidently Fralom had chosen to do so immediately. The ship began to shake as the ships enormous engines made their presence known.


	15. Chapter 15

**Mass Exodus**

 **Chapter 12**

"Weapons free!" Bellowed Khoran into his radio. "Enemy at the south!" Khoran glared at the radar screen as the green blips closed in on the southern ramparts. He stepped through the closest door into a corridor. He followed a stream of men into the armoury, picking up the closest rifle to the door. He checked the sights. Slid in the ammunition block. And finally, removed his stripes before putting on his helmet. He activated his intercom, talking to every marine on the base. "Time to murder someone." He told them, and he stalked from the room.

 **0**

Benezia grinned as her marines positioned themselves behind trees and under bushes. When she had first stepped into these woods she and the others had marvelled at them. Even the Geth seemed to stop and think about how it possible to have a whole forest on a starship. It was true that the Citadel had trees on it, clusters of three or four in parks and boulevards, and in the more affluent areas of the wards. But nothing so complete as this.

They had picked up their pace through the forest, the trees masking the sounds of their footsteps as they crunched down on fallen leaves and snapped twigs.

A quick long range scan revealed the location of the Batarian's base. Another quick look at the local terrain revealed a way to cut round and attack their base from a hopefully unexpected angle. She had called in reinforcements and was now waiting for them to arrive. Two armatures and a colossus should do it.

Benezia looked up, the familiar whine of Geth shuttles filled the air. They were ready to smash the Batarians like glass.

 **0**

Khoran crept up to the outer perimeter. It consisted of a low prefabricated wall that circled the taller, inner perimeter wall. Behind that was the small forward base, just three large rooms connected by a a set of corridors.

"Sir." Said a voice on his ear. "We have three Geth shuttles coming in from the south. Probably dropping in reinforcements."

"Understood." Said Khoran quietly. He looked over the top of the defensive wall. All he could see was forest. He didn't expect to be able to see any Geth or Asari, but he knew they were out there. He had decided not to cut down the forest around the base because he might as well have put up a sign announcing his position. But there was another reason. He doubted that his enemy had realised how dry this forest was.

He nodded to the man next to him, who brought up the flame thrower. He pointed it at the closest bush and let loose a thick stream of fire. The bush burst into fire, as did the tree next to it. He swept the nozzle around, igniting huge swaths of ground. Khoran looked on dispassionately as the fire spread around the forest. "Fall back to the outer breach." He said over the comm. "We have five minutes till the mortars start range finding."

 **0**

Lokas huffed as he watched the fire spread through the forest. The four eyed one had judged the wind rather well. It was pushing the fire away from his base towards the enemy they had so graciously delivered to him. "He's being tricky." He said to Fueban.

"We can be trickier." Said Fueban back.

They both stopped talking instantly. The shared a look, confirming what the other had felt. He felt Their presence behind them. Lokas turned, his eyes directed to the floor. He saw the hem of a long black coat, the horned shadow confirmed who he was standing before. The Solitaire. He dared not speak, knowing that to speak to the Solitaire was to be damned. He turned back around and looked at Fueban. Beads of sweat rolled down the other Harlequins face.

"I-I think they are coming with us." Stammered Lokas. Fueban didn't respond. He simply nodded.

 **o0o**

Sergeant Harold 'Harry' Plotts followed close behind Shepard and her group. Behind him was seventeen more marines. His squad. If it weren't for Commander Shepard deciding to tag along for the first leg of the journey he would be leading the way. But probably getting lost he admitted to himself. These tunnels were like a maze. And all the same, just black and round. Only illuminated by the lights on the shoulders and helmets of his fellow marines.

Although the alien with Shepard didn't seem to be having any trouble navigating them. It was only after a brief argument that he had even allowed them to leave navigation markers at all, but the arse hole had still insisted on leaving additional markers behind to confuse anyone trying to follow them. They only had three potential colours that the markers could produce. So at every one of the four way intersections they left three markers, one yellow, one red and one green.

"This is the final intersection." Said the Alien in an annoying tone of voice that seemed to ask 'you can understand that at least can't you?' Harry hated that man. He may have been nearly eight foot tall, and a prince but that didn't mean he _had_ to look down his nose at everyone. And why was he still carrying that stupid stick?

"Is this where we split up?" Asked Shepard.

"No." Answered Yriel. "We will be using the tram system to navigate the longer distances. I have taken us to the closest depo to your ship. I should be able to reactivate the necessary lines there."

"Why didn't you tell us that when we were actually there?" Asked Harry, annoyed.

Yriel glanced at Harry just out of the corner of his good eye. "I am about to take you through a garden of silence. It is a site of mourning for my people, only The Crestfallen and Weeping Daughters of Isha are permitted to speak here. You will be the first Mon-Keigh to even see it."

"That's quite a mouthful." Joked Harry snidely.

Yriel looked at him with narrowed eyes. "It's not my fault your language is so primitive." He turned back to Shepard. "You are psychically aware, on some level. This may be difficult for you." He told her.

Shepard looked back at him with a gaze like a steel rod. "I'll be fine."

Yriel seemed to shrug without moving as he turned to open the door he had led them to.

 **0**

Shepard wasn't fine. Ashley had known the woman for barely a week but she could still see that the atmosphere in this room was getting to her. The room was a wide circle filled with purple light emanating from a shallow pool in the centre of the room. The pool was surrounded by high backed chairs, and three trees like Weeping Willows. Only the leaves were purple and the trunks jet black. Dark green grass crumpled beneath her feet as she almost carried Shepard across the room.

It was sort of well known that Shamans could sense the emotions of places, places where happy things happened felt happy, and sad places felt sad. Very simple. Not that a regular Human could tell any kind of difference between places based only on how they felt to be in. But even Ashley could feel the oppressive sadness in this place. It beat down on her, almost pushing away her happy thoughts. She dreaded to think how bad Shepard felt being here. The fact that the woman had started to weep silently almost as soon as she had stepped through the door was telling. Even the so far unflappable Yriel seemed to be affected by this place. His shoulders had fallen, and he had stopped more than once to gather himself.

Soon they were through that awful room and they came out into a brightly lit atrium with a high vaulted ceiling. Scattered around the room were small tables with pairs of chairs placed on opposite sides of them. Ashley really began to wonder what this place was actually for. Yriel said it was a place of mourning, but what did that actually mean.

"What was that place?" Asked Shepard, beating Ashley to the punch. The last of the marines came through the door. He slumped against the tall door as it closed behind him.

Yriel looked round at them. "This is a place where people may go if they wish to purge themselves of grief." He turned away, pointing to the double doors at the other end of the chamber. "The tramway is not far from this place, we should go." Shepard could only nod.

Shepard waved off Ashley's attempts to help her to her feet, rising unsteadily. Shepard gritted her teeth and marched off, following behind Yriel. Ashley followed after giving the signal to move out to the rest of the marines.

They stepped through the doors into a harsh golden yellow light. Ashley's eyes slowly adjusted to the glare and revealed to her that she was standing on a street suspended in the sky. Past the smooth, white road in front of her was a drop. Beyond that was the skyline of a huge city. Beautifully rounded towers and domes that looked to have grown from the ground stretched out before her. Bridges reached from building to building. A web of roadways suspended in the sky teased their way between the building, but Ashley couldn't see what was holding them up. And the streets below never seemed to fall into shadow despite whatever may hang above them. She had never seen anything quite so incredible. She had to remind herself she was still on a starship.

"Kaiden." She spoke to her equally amazed squad mate. "How big do you think this city is?" She asked.

He swallowed. "I'd say it's about four hundred miles to the other end." He answered, squinting to see the other side of the gigantic dome that contained the city. Every marine, including Shepard, were staring at the sight before them.

"Come on Mon-Keigh!" Shouted Yriel, breaking the Humans revelry. "I have transport for you!" They turned to see Yriel gesturing to a long vehicle with large windows and a turbine on each corner. And like everything else they had seen it's lines were smooth and graceful. Nothing seemed out of place on it.

Harry followed Yriel as he stepped onto the 'tram'. It didn't look like much of a tram to him. The only places to sit were around the edges of the space. With no hand holds on the ceiling or railing to hold onto, it seemed more like a doctors waiting room. There was also no graffiti. Not like the trams back home.

"So who's gonna drive this thing?" He asked Yriel. He looked at Harry. And of course he looked at him like something he'd dug out of his ear. Harry was getting annoyed with this guy.

"No one will be driving, it is entirely automated." Answered Yriel. He pointed to one of the many runes engraved onto the far wall of the tram. "This rune will take you to where you need to go." He pointed to another. "And this one will take you back here." Harry memorised them both and nodded when he was sure he wouldn't forget.

Probably label them, just to be safe. "I'm not a Shaman. How am I gonna activate the rune?" He asked.

Yriel sighed. "Just place your hand on the rune and think about activating it, the rune will do the rest. Not all of my race can use such abilities all the time either." He said, by way of an explanation. Yriel continued. "Once you reach your destination you will still need to find where the other aliens are."

Harry stared daggers at Yriel. "I am aware of that. I have been a marine for ten years." He hissed.

Yriel seemed unaffected by Harry's attitude. He stepped past the angry marine sergeant. Saying "Try not to get lost." As he left the tram. Harry could only glower at the back of his head as the rest of the marines clambered aboard.

"What about us?" Asked Shepard. She looked past Yriel as the tram lifted off the ground and gracefully turned in the air, it was almost silent as it sped off into the distance.

Yriel walked past her as he answered. "We are going to the council chambers. I need to find out how the council were taken so easily. To that end we are taking a much faster but less subtle mode of transportation." He pointed to another smooth lined vehicle. This one was noticeably smaller than the tram. More like an air car.

"It's only got two jets." Pointed out Ashley. "How can it be much faster?" He asked.

Yriel didn't deign to answer. He just climbed into the new vehicle. Shepard, Ashley and Kaiden squeezed themselves in after him. There was only just enough room to fit them all in. Which surprised Shepard considering how much taller Yriel was than them. The interior of any car scaled to him should be huge.

"Hang on." He told them before he activated the engines. The car didn't shake as the turbines began to spin quietly and it lifted off the ground. Yriel took a hold of the two levers in front of him and pushed one of them forward.

The four of them were pushed into their seats hard as the world became one huge blur.

 **o0o**

Isana giggled as she was lifted onto the medical bed. Dr Chakwas smiled as the small girl poked the holograms of her omni-tool. She passed it over Isana's arms, chest, head and leg. Getting a full medical scan, or as close to one as she could without breaking out the big scanner. Anderson couldn't help but smile himself as he observed from the other side of the room. Tali stood beside him, wringing her hands nervously.

"That tickles." Laughed the small girl as Chakwas scanned over her hands.

Chakwas took a moment to look over the results as Tali lifted Isana off the bed and led her back out of the medical bay. The last thing they heard was her asking "What's up there?" Excitedly before the door shut.

"Well?" Asked Anderson, trying to wipe the smirk of his face and act professional.

Chakwas didn't even try and answered while wearing a huge grin. "She seems like a lovely young girl."

Anderson looked at Chakwas slyly. "And what about physically?"

"Incredible." Answered the doctor. "Like nothing I have ever seen. She might seem to have similar biology to a Human, but it's radically different. Her muscles are denser, and probably stronger. Her nervous system is vastly more complex than ours. Her bones are lighter, but stronger, and probably less brittle than ours as well. Her internal organs seem to have similar functions to ours, she has 'lungs' and a 'heart' and so on but they're much more complex and..." Chakwas stopped for a moment.

"And?" Prompted Anderson.

"It's like they were arranged to be more efficient." She said hesitantly.

Anderson thought for a moment. "Could this girl be genetically engineered in some fashion? Like a designer child?" He asked uncomfortably.

"With nothing to compare it to, I have no way of knowing." Admitted Chakwas. "But she does seem like she was designed for quick, powerful movements. As well as thinking and reacting quickly. And her immune system is staggeringly efficient."

Anderson sighed deeply as he thought. "So. She could be a genetically engineered to be a solider, is what you're saying."

Chakwas looked at him levelly. "She _could_ be. I would be surprised if she was, but it is a possibility." She told him. "But the good news is we can feed her. Her diet shouldn't be too different from a Humans."

 **0**

"What's up there?" Asked Isana excitedly, dragging Tali by the hand up the corridor.

"Those are the sleeping pods." Answered Tali. "It's where people... Sleep." She reached over and pulled open the nearest pod, showing Isana the foam lining the walls of the cramped pod.

Isana promptly climbed in and began to poke and prod the bedding. "Doesn't feel comfy." She said, before clambering out. Tali was about to explain it wasn't designed to be comfy when Isana ran off towards the stairs. The bemused Quarian tried to chase after the small girl, but she was surprisingly quick for someone so short.

"Isana wait!" Tali called after her. But she had already reached the stairs and was beginning to ascend them.

The Eldar child reached the top of the stairs only to be stopped by an armed guard. "Excuse me young lady. You can't be up here." He told her gently.

She looked up at him confused. "You can't tell me what to do." She told him, and she ran past him. It took the hapless guard a moment to realise that technically she was wrong. He turned around just as Tali bounded up the stairs.

"Where did Isana go?" She asked him wearily. He pointed up past the confused occupants of the command information centre to Isana. Who was skipping merrily towards the bridge. "Isana!" Called Tali.

Joker checked the engine readout again, then the oxygen levels, then the hull sensors. Then he checked to see if anyone was watching. The cursor on his computer screen slowly moved towards the file marked 'operational images'. He was about to open the file when a small hand gripped his forearm and a young girl asked him. "What does this do?" She was leaning over him, pointing at one of the holographic controls.

"That controls the power output of the engines." He answered, bemused. She pointed to another control. Joker answered her question before she could ask it. "That controls the angle of the engines." She nodded, still looking at the various controls. "Who are you?" He asked.

"Isana!" Called a clearly flustered Tali. She ran up, slightly out of breath. "You must not wander off." She told the girl. "I'm sorry Joker." She apologised to the amused pilot.

"No problem." He told her lightly. "I was chatting to Isana about the ships controls. You interested in spaceships?" He asked Isana.

"I'm going to be a shipmaster." She told him proudly.

"You know about your people's ships?" Asked Joker.

Isana nodded excitedly. "Honoured Autarch Yriel once took me out in a star dinghy. He even let me steer for a bit!"

"How do you steer a star dinghy?" Asked Joker. Isana opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted by an urgent beeping from Jokers communications console. He looked at the incoming message and his face went pale.

Tali gipped Isana's shoulder lightly and pulled her away from the cockpit. "I think we should go." She told the small girl. Isana nodded and followed Tali back towards the CIC.

 **o0o**

The Alliance fleet sped towards the craftworld. Several hundred fighters. Handfuls of frigates, dreadnoughts and carriers made this the largest gathering of Alliance military might since the response to the Batarian attack known as the Skyllian Blitz. The Batarian ships that admiral Hackett had been expecting had yet to appear. Instead he found himself presented with a fleet of almost two hundred Geth ships. And one huge black dreadnought. The two fleet sped towards one another.

Suddenly, the black dreadnought fired. Beams of bright red lashed out, cutting through the kinetic barriers of the Alliance ships with chilling ease. The beam swept across the Alliance fleet, and waves of fighters vanished in balls of fire and ruined steel.

The Alliance fired back, unleashing a staggering wave of steel projectiles. They slammed into the dreadnought. And did nothing. The dreadful ship didn't stop or even slow. And unleashed another volley of it's own. This time destroying the first Alliance dreadnought, the deadly red beam slamming into it's back and cutting it in half as though it were little more than paper.

Then the Geth made their presence known. As literally one mind the Geth ships fired. A disciplined barrage that destroyed smaller ships, and severely weakened the barriers of many more.

"Disengage!" Called Hackett. "We can't beat that thing in a straight fight!"

The Alliance fleet broke off as one. Fighters pulled hairpin turns in an effort to return to their carriers before they could be picked off by the Geth dreadnought. Most didn't make it back in time. Those that did found their efforts to be futile as the two Alliance carriers were both picked off as they turned away from the gravity well of Theseus' sun. The rest of the Alliance fleet managed to pull the sharp turns and difficult manoeuvres required to get themselves out of danger, when the Batarians arrived.

Almost six hundred ships fell out of lightspeed almost on top of the startled Alliance fleet. At almost the exact same moment the two opposing admirals ordered their captains to let loose a full volley from their most powerful guns. The two fusillades slammed into the targets. For hundreds of miles around space became a roiling firestorm. The superior guns of the Alliance ships punched through the Batarian shields. While the weakened Alliance shields collapsed under the sudden barrage. Thousand of men and women, Human and Batarian died in moments. Some were consumed by fire, whilst others died gasping in the vacuum of space.

With a series of flashes the Alliance fleet activated their faster than light drives and fled the battlefield.

The Batarian fleet moved in on the smaller Geth fleet, confident of victory. Until the lead dreadnought, sleek and black, began to fire.


	16. Chapter 16

**Mass Exodus**

 **Chapter 13**

Zargon looked at the screen of his electron microscope. In the sample tray was a sliver of the material he had carved through to get inside the ship his lab was built on. He was truly fascinated by the wondrous material. It was much harder and tougher than any other metal or plastic Zargon had seen. It insulated against electricity, and extraordinary amounts of both heat and cold. And now he had a sample under the microscope he could see why it always felt so smooth. It's molecules were strictly regimented like Carbon in a diamond. If Zargon could unravel even a fraction of this materials secrets he would single handedly revolutionise material science across the whole galaxy.

"Aziz! Where are you?!" Called Zargon.

Almost everyone who had been landed on the huge ship by the Batarian fleet had been moved through the small tunnel and into the much simpler base built on the other side. Now it was just him and a few marines to man the anti-air guns and maintain the long range communicator. And Zargon's long suffering assistant Aziz.

"Aziz! I need the results of the scan!" He called again. When he didn't hear the usual mad scrabble of paper and feet he looked around to see his lab empty, the door open. "AZIZ! He bellowed angrily. He stood up violently, throwing his chair back across the room. He was going to flay that boy.

He stomped down the corridor towards the closest barracks, where Aziz was probably trying to get into the pants of the female marines. He pulled the door open, revealing twenty empty beds. Zargon was confused, this was the only room being used at the moment. Even at it's emptiest it would have at least a few people in it. None of the beds even looked slept in. Not even those belonging to the men on the night watch.

It was now that Zargon realised just how quiet the base was. He could hear no chatter, no distant laughing, not even footsteps. He walked quietly, afraid to disturb the silence. The quiet 'hiss' of opening doors seemed thunderous to him now. As he roamed around the base he still heard nothing. He checked the comm room next and found that empty as well.

He pulled his pistol and activated his own personal radio, only to be greeted by static. Zargon started to move quickly and silently, towards the base's exit. Towards the hole he had bored just a day ago. The quickest route took him through the mess hall, and he decided it would be best to check there anyway. Reaching the mess hall quickly, he pulled the door open. And stopped dead in his tracks.

The dining tables had been arranged to form one long rectangle. And arranged, in chairs, around it were the bodies of the twenty marines who had been left in the base. At the far end of the table was Aziz, his dead eyes locked with Zargon's own. In front of each body was a metal dining tray. And each tray held a still steaming heart.

For a moment Zargon couldn't breathe. He didn't know how, but he knew that each heart belonged to the person it sat in front of. And he realised with a start that there was an extra place set, but no occupant.

Zargon spun on his heels intent on not entering that place. He didn't see the shadow move. He didn't see the hand encased in baleful energy. He only felt the hand reach through his back, grip his heart, and pull.

 **o0o**

Darak sighed with boredom.

He looked out across the boulevard. He was standing behind the chest high wall that circled the mass of tents that constituted the base. The closest things to buildings were the three armoured personnel carriers that had just been rebuilt, each part having been carried through the all too small tunnel that had been carved through side of the dome. Other than that the whole base was just tents and chest high walls. They weren't even complete rings so the APC's could get out.

" _Contact on the East._ " Said a tinny voice in his ear. Darak readied his gun, perhaps he would be needed to support them. " _Stand down, friendlies._ "

Darak gave an exasperated huff. He joined the marines to see some action. Kicking ass and taking slaves. Not wait around on, admittedly impressive, ships and do nothing but stare at a street with benches on it.

Something in the distance shifted.

Darak looked out intently. He was sure he'd seen something move. But there was nothing. Just the white pavement, white benches and the occasional tub full of flowers. No! There it was again! A blur of colour ran from one tub to another. And then another.

He activated his radio. "I think I can see something."

" _Elaborate._ " The operator told him.

"I can see some kind of black and white blur. Moving forward, cover hopping." Said Darak.

The radio operator conferred with someone else. " _We're sending someone else to confirm._ _Out._ "

"Out." Muttered Darak.

He watched the last place he had seen the blur, raising his rifle. "Come out. I dare you." He said under his breath. His eyes narrowed as stared forward.

"Private." Said a voice behind him. "What are you doing?"

Darak spun round and snapped to attention. "Sir! Was awaiting an opportunity to fire upon our attackers." He told his sergeant.

The officer looked out across the boulevard and saw nothing. "What enemy private?" He asked, not even a little bit amused.

"Me." Said a chilling voice from behind Darak.

He turned just in time to see a flash of silver, and hear the singing of the sword that decapitated him. The officer was able to see the tall, masked warrior dressed in black and white, wielding a sword and pistol. He had just enough time to consider how he had failed to see the eight foot tall man before he felt the sword get thrust into his gut.

 **0**

The ground slipped under Khorans feet. He gritted his teeth in annoyance. He had told those idiots not to dump the spoil over the edge, he didn't want to fall down the rock face. It wasn't exactly steep but he doubted his armour would absorb all the impacts from the appreciably long fall. Khoran reached the top of the climb just as another round of thuds from the mortars pounded his hearing into submission.

He turned to look out at the forest. Whole swathes of it were ablaze now. The fire he had started near the forward base had been pushed by the wind and fed by the dry leaves on the forest floor. He didn't know if that had killed any of the attacking Geth but it had definitely shown them how ruthless Khoran was willing to be. It had shown them that this ship was his.

"Admiral!" Called one of his sergeants. The man in charge of communications. "The reinforcement fleet has been destroyed!"

"What?" Asked Khoran, deathly quiet.

The comms officer swallowed. "It came into the system right on top of a Systems Alliance fleet. They were in retreat from the Geth. They disengaged and then the Geth annihilated our fleet."

Khoran considered this for a moment. "Where are the Geth now?" He asked.

"They've gone back to searching this ship's docking bays. Except the dreadnought which is patrolling the edge of the system."

Khoran looked out across the burning woods, past the marines that were climbing up the rocks. He looked at the mountains, where the Geth were dropping their troops into the dome. "Get a message to Gorak. Tell him to flatten the Geth base on the roof of the dome."

"It'll take a few minutes for them to get the message." Warned the comm officer. "And longer to actually begin the bombardment."

Khoran smiled thinly. "Good enough." He said as he stomped off into the base.

The base was barely a military base. Just a large collection of tents surrounded by some prefab walls. Walking through it was an odd experience, for someone as experienced as Khoran. Due to the fact they were on solid ground none of the tents were pegged in, or even had guy lines. Not having to avoid tripping in a field of tents was quite bizarre.

A group of men ran past him, towards the northern wall.

Khoran began to reflect on the oddness of having a group of tents pitched on a street, on a spaceship.

Another group of men ran past.

Khoran activated his radio. "What is going on?" He demanded to know.

His receiver crackled for a moment before a hideously familiar voice told him. "Something is happening to your base. What a shame." Khoran growled out a curse as he drew his rifle from off his back and ran after the last group of men.

He bounded round a corner and stopped dead. Walking towards him was a tall woman wearing a black and white leotard and a laughing faced mask. She was wielding a long, elegant pistol and a thin rapier like sword. As she stepped towards him she left behind a kaleidoscopic after image of black and white that made Khorans eyes water.

He snapped up his rifle and fired a quick burst. But she literally danced out of the way, moving with such speed Khoran couldn't follow her movements. He only saw the trail of black and white. She pirouetted between two tents and out of sight. Khoran kept his rifle up even as he saw that the floor was covered in the bodies of dead Batarian marines.

Avoiding the bodies on the floor, he walked slowly through the corridor of tents. He heard a titter to his left and snapped his rifle round. All he saw was the same disorientating after image disappearing behind a tent. Hearing another laugh behind him, he turned quickly. Once again, all he saw was the remnants of his foes movements.

Khoran tried his radio again, but all he heard was static. He began to back up, careful to avoid tripping on the corpses at his feet. If he could get to the APC's at the other end of the camp he might just be able to mount some form of defence. Use them as a bulwark or a bunker. Then a group of three marines rounded the corner ahead of him.

"Admiral!" Called the lead marine. "The northern rampart has been overrun! We ha-" The marine was cut off by a sudden flurry of movement. Another of the mysterious attackers stepped forward, leaving the now familiar trail of black and white. Then, a flash of silver.

The marine's head sailed over Khoran. He raised his rifle and fired wildly, desperately. The second marine's face exploded as the high velocity rounds slammed into him. The black and white attacker having already disappeared.

"Damn." Muttered Khoran, finally lowered his weapon. "Come on." He told the last marine. "We need to get to the APC's." The marine nodded nervously, visibly trying not to look at the two bloody corpses at his feet.

Just as Khoran turned a chill ran up his spine. He looked over his shoulder, past the young marine behind him. Standing behind the marine was another of the tall attackers. Except the mask this one wore had a blank expression and from it's forehead sprouted two horns that just peaked out from under the figures hood. The hood belonged to a long purple coat that covered most of it's wearer. Khoran didn't fear much. But this 'thing' exuded an aura of dread, and wrongness. For once, Khoran could say he was genuinely frightened.

The marine seemed to sense the things presence and turned. Just as he did so, it stabbed him in the chest with a tube attached to it's wrist. It punched through the armour with chilling ease. The marine didn't react, or even seem to feel it. Nothing about him had changed. Until he dropped to his knees limply, and his head slipped from his body. His armour fell into a heap as the morass of liquid that had been his body burst forth.

The thing looked at Khoran, meeting his gaze. It raised it's hand, and slowly drew a single finger across it's throat. Khoran swallowed. It cocked it's head and even managed to make that look threatening.

Khoran turned and ran.

 **0**

The five marines sat in the APC, sharing nervous, four eyed glances. Their job was to sit in the APC and prevent any attackers from getting in and stealing them, or planting bombs in them. And normally they felt very safe performing this duty. But not this time.

"Check again." One of them said to the man holding the radio. He nodded weakly and turned on radio receiver.

At first it was silent. Then they heard the sound of someone giggling under their breath. A deep breath, and then a woman quietly saying. "Knock knock."

*Clang! Clang!*

The five marines pulled their rifles up with clumsy speed, and pointed them at the door, where the knocking had come from.

"Open the damned door!" Bellowed an angry voice.

The closest marine jumped up towards the door. "Of course admiral." He said as he pushed the door open.

Khoran climbed in and pushed past the marines roughly. He sat in the drivers seat and pushed he ignition on the engine.

The marine's sergeant looked at Khoran accusingly. "Sir. We can't leave the base with just five men."

"Then signal the other APC's." Barked Khoran as he released the handbrake.

"But sir?" Questioned another marine. "What's happening? Where's the rest of the men?"

Khoran stopped for a brief moment and said grimly. "They're all dead now." Before slamming his foot down on the accelerator.

 **o0o**

The tall buildings of the city streamed past at frightening speed. But to Harry it barely felt like the tram was moving at all. If he closed his eyes the only indication was the quiet whirring of the jets, the gentle pulse of what he assumed was the engine and the occasional tilt as tram rounded a corner. There was a sudden wumpf as the tram speeded into a low, wide tunnel. The light disappeared.

Harry and the rest of his squad flicked on their torches, throwing panels of light onto the tunnel walls speeding by. Occasionally the tunnel wall would fall away into another branching tunnel that would head up or down. Harry presumed that this was the main 'highway' for the craftworld.

His stomach lurched as the tunnel dipped into a sudden but gentle slope. The tram peeled off into a thin tunnel that turned up sharply. A few moments of darkness later the tram exited into the bright light of a huge dome. It sped round the edge of the dome on a wide boulevard.

"Is that a mountain?" Asked an incredulous marine.

Harry looked out the window where the man was pointing. "Aw dude, that's just showing off."

The tram came to a sudden stop not far from the tunnel exit. The Marines filed out cautiously, weapons ready. Harry walked to the edge of the boulevard and looked down. Rocks, swamp, forest, grassy plain then mountains. He was lucky he didn't need to search the whole dome, he and his squad would have been here for years. With a frown he pulled out a pair of binoculars and began searching the edges of the dome.

Almost a third of the way round the dome he spotted the Batarian base, just before perspective took it behind the mountain range. Harry noticed with a grimace that huge blocks of the forest near the base were on fire. "I have the distinct impression Yriel isn't going to like that." He said to himself.

He took the time to consider his options before making a decision about what to do. "Right. Fire team one will stay behind and guard the tram. I'll take the rest of the squad into the forest below and we'll make our way round to the Batarian base." He ordered. "Remember this is an observation mission. So no opportunistic shots under any circumstances. If you have to kill someone, do so _very_ quietly." The marines nodded before following Harry down the rocks, and into the forest.

 **o0o**

The air-car touched down on the balcony gently. Shepard climbed out dumbly, followed by Ashley and Kaiden. It took a few wobbly steps for their heads to stop spinning. Then Yriel stepped out in an annoyingly urbane fashion. He motioned to the entryway they had landed in front of. An archway cut into the side of a tall, thin spire.

"This is the Tower of Seers, where the council were being kept in stasis." He told them.

"Let me guess." Sighed Ashley. "This place is sacred to your people?"

Yriel gave the woman in immolating glare. "You are correct, in that everywhere on the craftworld is sacred to my people. But the Tower in particular. There are places here even I am not permitted to enter."

"Ok then." Said Shepard. "We'll be very careful, and try not to trip any traps."

"Traps?" Asked Yriel.

Shepard gave him a look that was mix of hopeful and worried. "You know, to keep out intruders."

Yriel stood grandly. "The Tower does not suffer intruders, ordinarily."

"Ordinarily?" Asked Shepard.

Yriel began walking towards the entrance. "Unfortunately the defences were powered off."

"Why?" Asked Ashley annoyed. "This has been bugging me. Where are the ships point defences, where are the internal defenders? Why is the whole place asleep?!"

Yriel stopped and glowered at Ashley. "Even a universe away you Mon-Keigh are impertinent."

Ashley gave him an odd look. "Universe away?"

Yriel continued as if Ashley had never spoken. "We undertook a journey with a considerable potential for length, and dangers you cannot fathom." Yriel stopped walking just as he reached the archway, swaying lightly.

Shepard looked closely at Yriel. "Uh Yriel, you look a bit..." She waved her hand in front of her face, the meaning was lost on Yriel who just glanced at her oddly.

"Anyway. "He continued. "It was decided that secrecy would be our watchword. Everything was powered down to hide our presence, everyone was put into stasis to hide their presence. And also if the journey took considerable length of time. And finally a single guardian was appointed to be our last line of defence and to awaken the council when we reached our destination." Yriel collapsed against the wall. But he continued as if nothing had happened. "And the council would awaken the population selectively. First would have been those responsible for food production, then..."

Shepard stepped forward, putting a hand on Yriels shoulder. "Yriel you look ill."

"I am fine." He asserted, before suddenly vomiting a mouthful of blood.

"JESUS CHRIST!" Shouted Ashley, rushing forward. Shepard and Kaiden followed suite.

"Oh dear." He muttered, looking down at the great red stain slowly spreading down his armour. "It appears destroying the spear has hastened by fated demise." Yriel collapsed, sliding down the wall. Pulling Ashley and Shepard down with him as they tried to stop his descent. He looked at the three Humans. "Oh gods. I'm going to have to get you to do this." He complained.


	17. Chapter 17

**Mass Exodus**

 **Chapter 14**

Ashley and Shepard pulled Yriel into a sitting position, his back resting against the wall. Kaiden performed a scan with his omni-tool, medi-gel applicator held at the ready. He was still clutching the spear, which confused Shepard somewhat. She tried to pull the broken weapon from his grasp. Yriel gripped harder and shook his head weakly at her. "You just said the spear is killing you." She admonished.

"Slowly." He explained. "If I put down the Spear it will kill me, instantly."

"How?" Asked Ashley.

Yriel gave her an annoyed. "If I lay down the Spear, it will drag my soul with it. Without the protection of my physical form the power of the Spear will flay my soul down to it's core." Yriel rolled his eyes at the three Humans horrified looks.

Shepard laid a friendly hand on his shoulder. "Why would you use that? Why do that to yourself?" She asked.

"WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!" Bellowed Yriel. "We must get to the council chamber!" He tried to lever himself off the floor. He coughed up another gout of blood and fell down with a groan.

"You're not going anywhere." Kaiden told him. "Your internal organs are all severely damaged. I can't be sure but I think the reason you're coughing up blood is because the lining of your lungs are degrading from overwork. I don't even know how you've been walking around."

"Willpower." Muttered Yriel, trying to stand again. Kaiden and Shepard pushed him down and another dribble of blood leaked from the side of his mouth. "Well then, it appears I am not moving onward." He gave the three Humans a defeated and altogether hateful look. "Very well. I must ask you to rescue the seer council."

"We don't even know where they are." Sighed Shepard.

"You will be able to locate in the council chamber. I expect that the kidnappers will have left some kind of evidence."

Ashley scowled. "And if they didn't?"

Yriel scowled back. "There are only two enemy bases on the craftworld. Check them both if you need to, I remember you saying you have reinforcements on the way."

Shepard nodded. "That's true. But we can't just leave yo-"

Yriel cut her off. "Just leave me to die. Rescue the council." He told her. His tone brooked no argument.

Shepard could only nod. The three Humans nodded, and with looks of grim determination walk into the tower, their rubber soled shoes made no noise as they ascended the spiral, wraithbone stairs. Yriel gritted his teeth and pulled himself off the floor, using the Spear of Twilight as a tall walking stick. _"If they think I'm leaving it to them, they are truly foolish."_ He thought as he took his first painful step. He looked around trying to get his bearings. _"Which way to the Exarch shrines?"_ He asked himself as he took his second. His third was accompanied by the thought _"This is going to take a long time."_

 **0**

Shepard, Kaiden and Ashley ran up the stairs in the tower. At regular intervals the stair would reach a landing with a door or an archway. Shepard could not resist looking through the open ones, however brief the look might be. Most of them held a single plinth in the middle of the room and nothing more. But some had collections of chairs arranged in circles. Either way Shepard was fascinated by even the tiny window into the lives of the ships occupants.

But it was the final door that she was looking forward to entering most. They reached the very top of the stairs in record time and the three of them had paused to catch their breaths. Shepard reflected that if it wasn't for the fact they were trained marines they might not have been fit enough to get this high. She looked at the door before her. It was the same half oval that all the other doors were. It didn't even look that important. Shouldn't there be some kind of sign on it saying ''Council chamber. Important. Do not disturb!''

She shrugged and placed her hand over the crystal rune on the door frame. She felt a round button beneath her fingers. She looked down at her had and saw it placed over the rune, her mind briefly railed against the illogical situation. She imagined pressing the button and the door slid silently into the wall. "I don't know what's wrong with a door handle." She muttered quietly. Ashley stepped through the door instantly, her rifle held at the ready. Kaiden and Shepard followed, both scanning the room with their guns.

The room was another dome. This one much smaller, but still quite large. It was gently lit by the ceiling, the entire thing appearing to produce some kind of soft, white light. In the centre of the room was a round table with seven chairs around it. To one side of the room were seven pods, all empty.

Shepard and the others rushed over to them. Each pod was lined with soft blue cushions, but there was nothing else in them. "Search the whole room." Shepard told them.

A few moments later Ashley gave a cry of triumph and ran over to Shepard, who was inspecting the chairs. She looked up and Ashley showed her a small tube of plastic. "Wow Ashley." She said sarcastically. "I'll have to go find my sock because you just blew them off."

"What's that?" Asked Kaiden who had stepped over.

Ashley gave a smirk. "It's the cap to a syringe."

Shepard's eyebrow raised, as did Kaiden's. Shepard smiled at Ashley. "So now we know it's the Batarians." Ashley nodded.

"No it's not." Said Kaiden. The two women gave him an odd look.

"Kaiden. The Geth are machines." Said Shepard.

"But the Batarians don't use syringes, for anything." Kaiden told them.

"They don't."

Kaiden smirked. "No, they use eye drops."

"For everything!" Exclaimed Ashley.

Kaiden nodded. "And pills, but mostly eye drops. And there's also the fact that they would use stunners, not tranqs for something like this."

Shepard didn't look altogether convinced. "So based on the evidence of; a small tube of plastic. We think the Geth did this?"

Kaiden nodded. She looked to Ashley who just shrugged. "Well we've got a group inspecting the Batarian base, it couldn't hurt to go see the tin cans I suppose."

 **0**

The three of them stepped out of the tower, slightly out of breath from another round of seemingly endless stairs. The looked to where they'd left Yriel. But he wasn't there, much to their confusion. "We should get to the Normandy, that's the only airlock we can get to." Said Shepard.

"What about Yriel?" Asked Kaiden. Motioning to the trail of blood splatters along the floor. They led to a thin set of stairs that wound around the tower's base.

Shepard gave a shake of her head. "If he wants to kill himself like that, we should leave him to it. He's can't exactly cause any damage the state he's in."

 **o0o**

Saren stomped down the corridors. Glaring at any passers by and only the Geth didn't flinch. Much to his own pride. He stepped into the main room of the base, where the Geth had carved a hole through the floor, into the dome beneath. He could see them putting the finishing touches to the barrier he demanded they put over it. A huge hole with a three kilometre drop, an accident waiting to happen as far as he was concerned. He also noticed that something was being lifted up via the monstrous crane above him. When the cradle finally arrived into view he could see a slightly singed Benezia, accompanied by far fewer Geth and Asari than she had left with.

He raised a questioning eyebrow at her. She stormed up to him and quietly explained what had happened. Apparently Khoran had truly earned his reputation as a devious bastard. And Benezia had learned this the hard way when her squad was cut off by a forest fire he had started, and they were mortared. Saren didn't laugh. But Not-Nihlus did.

"Oh that's classic." He guffawed.

"We only made it out due to the timely arrival of a colossus." Explained Benezia. "I'm sending down the other two as well."

"Don't." Saren told her. "Two will be enough to take care of the Batarians. No matter how clever Khoran is. They'll retreat at the very least."

Benezia and Saren both heard the sound of a Geth running and turned to see one bounding up to them. It came to a smooth stop and looked at them both in turn. "Sirs." It began "Designation; The Titan has been spotted ascending the outside of the dome. It will be here in T-minus five point three eight macro cycles."

Not-Nihlus gave Saren a grave look. "You're in trouble now." He turned to Benezia and said "She's probably here for those people you kidnapped."

Benezia seemed to realise something. "It's probably here for the people we captured." She said hurriedly.

Not-Nihlus blinked in surprise. "It's almost as if she can hear me." Saren didn't look at Not-Nihlus, he didn't want to appear crazy in front of anyone. It had taken him a while to convince the doctor he was fit for active service. "This is your chance to move your prisoners out of here." Not-Nihlus said. "If you free them they might help you fight the Reapers."

Benezia continued. Speaking in a rush. "We should move them. I don't know where but somewhere."

Ordinarily Saren would not recommend that. Attacks like this were almost always ruses, with an ambush waiting to free any prisoner transports. But Not-Nihlus was right, this was his chance. And the only one he would ever get. "I agree." He said. "I'll move the prisoners." He made a show of thinking deeply. "Down into the dome. It's the best place for them in the long run anyway."

Benezia nodded in agreement.

 **0**

Oladra took long strides along the side of the dome. It had levelled out some time ago, but her limited vision only allowed her to see the barest hints of where her enemies nest was. But she could see it. A swirling corona of gold surrounded the huge machine spirit as it governed it's many bodies. She could even see the thin line of gold as it stretched out into the stars. _"Truly."_ She thought. _"This machine spirit is mighty to have such reach. A worthy foe indeed."_

 **0**

The Geth waited behind their defensive wall. They each hefted the biggest gun they could find. Most were armed with shotguns, but the lucky few had rocket launchers. Ahead of the lines stealth Geth were laying a deadly web of mines. They hoped this would at least slow the Titan down enough for the two colossus to blow it's legs off.

The Titan was almost running towards them. And it had changed. Now it had weapons. A quick analysis had revealed that it was carrying two flame thrower weapons, a bizarre rail-gun type weapon. And another the Geth couldn't make heads or tails of. And it was this weapon that spoke first.

It unleashed a retina scaring beam of bright white light that hit one of the stealth Geth square in the chest. The Geth's kinetic barrier didn't even activate as it was reduced to less than dust instantly. The Titan stepped into the minefield and didn't stop or even slow down as the explosives detonated beneath it's mighty tread.

The two colossus stepped over the barricade and the Geth guns fired as one. And did nothing. Rockets streaked towards the joints that connected The Titans legs to it's hips and didn't even mark the surface. Five stealth Geth ran up to The Titan and fired their shotguns into it's ankles hoping the joint would be weaker. The Titan scythed them all down like wheat with a single swing of it's sword.

It raised it's rail-gun and fired. The Geth sensors could only just scan the monomolecular disks it spat at hyper-velocities. Kinetic barrier flared and died in the same second as hundreds of disks cut Geth troopers into scrap. The other terrible weapon fired a second time. It's beam struck the first colossus, tore through it's armour and detonated it's power core. It exploded, throwing shrapnel into the black of space.

The other colossus redoubled it's efforts, not even backing off as The Titan ran forwards, it's guns firing into the ranks of smaller Geth. The Titan ran past the colossus and swung it's sword into the colossus' side. The blade flashed blue as it cut the colossus into two chunks. That then exploded.

Suddenly, the battlefield darkened. The Titan turned it's face towards the sky. Above it, sliding in front of the sun was almost two hundred Batarian ships.

 **0**

"Are we ready?" Bellowed a questioning Saren. He watched as the Geth pushed the last gravity sled into position. There were two of them. The first held four of the transports pods they were keeping the aliens in. The other sled held three. Seven in all. All of them were being fed a constant flow of tranquillisers, the formula having been slowly perfected while studying the aliens physiology.

"You're ready!" Called a Krogan merc.

Saren nodded and pushed the button to begin the lifts descent. It would take a few minutes for him to reach the floor. But once he did, and got rid off the two Geth troopers that were on the lift with him, he should be home and away.

"That's a long way down." Commented Not-Nihlus, looking over the edge. Saren didn't respond.

One of the Geth stepped up to Saren. "Designation; The Titan has destroyed both colossus platforms and significant numbers of trooper platforms. Batarian ships have begun a bombardment of the base. Nazara is returning and has demanded you return with the prisoners."

"And what if I don't." Said Saren. Painfully. Something inside him didn't want to say that and it was causing him almost physical pain to refuse Sovereigns order.

"Then we will kill you and return them anyway." Said the Geth plainly. The only outside indication of it's intentions was it's light turning a baleful red.

Not-Nihlus kicked it over the edge. Much to Saren's shock. The other Geth raised it's rifle and fired as Saren, who ducked just in time to hear the shots rebound off the safety rail behind him. He heard something spark angrily. Then a loud *SNAP* followed by a *CRUNCH*. He pulled his pistol out and slowly raised it and his head over the lifts control panel.

Not-Nihlus was gone. Instead he saw a woman, leaning casually against the gravity sled. She was dressed in a black and white leotard, with a purple veil over her head. She held a long purple staff topped by a grinning face. Hanging off of her belt was a face mask which held a neutral expression. She didn't seem to have a face, instead she wore a smooth mask made from a reflective substance.

Saren looked at his own reflection and saw himself, almost. His eyes glowed a horrible, burning red. And the bottom of his face was missing, as was most of his body. He was a red, glowing husk of himself. He regarded the figure warily, and remembered where he had seen her before.

"You were in my mirror." He said dumbly.

"Technically no." She told him with a slight giggle.

His eyes narrowed. "I never saw Nihlus, did I."

She threw her head back and laughed. "Technically yes." She tittered.

"That's not funny." He spat.

She stopped laughing "It is to me." She said quietly. "As is the notion you could hurt me with that gun."

The end of a purple staff came down from beside Saren in a crackling arc, the power field surrounding it smashing Sarens gun into pieces. Saren looked around and saw the same woman. He looked back to where she was and saw empty space. A deceptively strong hand gripped his neck and pushed him half over the safety rail. The slight wind became a howling gale to Saren's ears. He looked down and realised he was still two kilometres above the floor. He tried to grip the rail with his legs, but he knew if the woman decided to drop him, he would not live for much longer after that.

"It really is a long way down." Said the woman, deadly serious. "I would like to keep you alive Saren, but you have more or less served your purpose. So the question is my friend; Do I need to let go?"

 **o0o**

The most frightening thing about fighting in space, is silence. Those fighting had to watch their companions scream and die, silently. Cry for help and plead for mercy, silently. So the Asari commandos who were rushing to the outer ramparts of their base had to watch in horror as a beam of burning white light raked across the front line. The defensive wall exploding, the shrapnel shredding Geth troopers. Silently.

Suddenly the ground shook as the Batarian ships above them opened fire. The high velocity slugs smashed into the bases kinetic barriers which barely held back the barrage.

The commandos rushed up to the very edge of the barrier and saw The Titan in the flesh, surrounded by the wreckage of two Geth colossus. It appeared to be looking up at the Batarian ships, the weapons on it's shoulders still firing at the Geth lines. Weapon fire from all along the defensive line slammed into it and did nothing.

"How do we fight that?" Asked a commando desperately.

"I don't know." Answered the leader quietly. "But it can't get past the barrier surrounding the base."

A flash of red caused them to look up. One of the Batarian ships was burning, slowly falling towards the ground. Another flash. A beam of red energy swept across the Batarian fleet and more of the fleet began burning. Then Sovereign slipped into view. Every one of it's legs firing, tearing the Batarian fleet to shreds. Huge lumps of flaming metal fell slowly towards the floor. A single huge piece fell onto The Titan itself. The tall construct seemed barely to notice it was in danger at all.

The commandos cheered as it disappeared beneath tonnes of metal. Their happiness was short lived as they saw the thing cutting its way free with it's sword. The Titan raised it's weapons and fired, at Sovereign. A beam of burning white light shot towards the huge ship and struck the very tip of it's central leg. The entire leg disappeared as the beam chewed through it like paper. The heavy armour of the black ship offering worse than no protection against the terrible weapon.

The four remaining legs fired as one. Four streams of molten metal slammed into The Titan. It two shoulder weapons exploded, it sword was stripped from its grasp. It staggered back as the flamers on it's arms exploded. Fingers were torn off. It's two beautiful wings were destroyed, both shattering into pieces. The Titan took a step back and grabbed it's sword, pulling it free from the molten metal that had glued it to the floor.

Soverein fired again. Its cannons hit home. Layers of armour were stripped from The Titan and forced it back another step. But The Titan simply pulled its arm back and threw its sword with all its might.

The silver weapon flew through the vacuum leaving a trail of blue energy. It went clean through Sovereigns shields, its energy field puncturing the barriers with ease. It struck home, between the two clusters of lights that served as Sovereigns eyes. The sword was minuscule compared to the huge black ship but still the sentient ship screamed across all radio frequencies. The swords field of molecular destruction tore its way down into Sovereign, annihilating vital systems and millennia old circuitry.

The red beams fired once more, hitting The Titan in the waist and tearing it in half. Its left arm went flying as another of the beams destroyed its shoulder joint. The streams of molten metal coated The Titans remaining arm sticking it in place. The rapidly cooled metal simply shattered as The Titan flexed its arm. It dug it's fingers into a piece of nearby wreckage and it began to drag itself towards the base.

The Asari commandos who had been watching amazement and horror heard their radios crackle into life. And they heard Benezia give an announcement. "Saren has betrayed us. Sovereign has sounded a retreat. Get to your nearest shuttle immediately, we are evacuating."


	18. Chapter 18

**Mass Exodus**

 **Chapter 15**

The cradle slammed into the top of the hill, sending clouds of dust flying in all directions. The woman, who had introduced herself to Saren as Celsys, looked at Saren with a cocked head, the former Spectre got the distinct impression she was smiling behind her mirrored mask. "What a fun ride." She tittered. Saren glared at her. He was not happy about her deceptions. But he had little choice but to go along with it all. Especially after she had proven she could kill him with casual ease. Although it helped that their goals appear to have aligned, for the moment.

She waved a hand expectantly at Saren. "Well." She said.

"Well what?" He asked.

"Well I don't know how to use this primitive stuff you call technology." She huffed in a way that reminded Saren very much of the soap operas his family used to watch. "We need to get these sleds off the cradle."

Saren rolled his eyes and activated the first sled.

A few minutes later both sleds were off the cradle and the pods had been lined next to one another. Celsys walked along side them looking closely at each occupant through it's glass front. Saren followed her, opening each pod and deactivating the system of intravenous drips that kept each person sedated. "They should wake up in about ten minutes or so." He told her.

Celsys considered this in the most theatrical manner Saren had ever seen. Leaning back on her short staff like a walking stick and tapping her chin with an outstretched finger. "Well then." She said finally. "We should not be here when they awake."

Saren looked at her questioningly. "Why? Won't they reward you for rescuing them?"

"Errm, no." She responded. She began to walk away and Saren couldn't help but follow. "They'll want to know why I'm even here, and also why I let them get captured in the first place."

"You let them get captured?"

Celsys laughed lightly. "Oh yes. We were always aware of your presence, and your intentions. But events had to fall in a certain pattern. And the best way to ensure they did was to..." She paused, considering what to say next. "... Remove the council from the plot for a while."

The two of them had walked far enough down the side of the hill they were on that the pods were now out of sight. Celsys continued to walk and Saren continued to follow. "Plot?" Asked Saren. "This isn't a story, this is serious."

Celsys rounded on Saren, her posture had become fierce. "We _are_ in a story. The world is made of stories. Every thing that has ever lived, and will ever live is telling their own story, crafting their own narrative. There is nothing that matters more, than stories." Celsys cocked her head again. And pirouetted further away down the hill.

 **o0o**

The three armoured cars ate away at the ground as they sped round the edge of the dome. The driver of the lead car refusing to stop or even slow down. Khoran refused to tell his men what he had seen, they wouldn't believe him. But he _had_ seen a devil, and it _was_ coming for him. He needed a way off this ship. And the news of his smaller fleets destruction had arrived a few minutes ago. Delivered by the laughing voices that had taken over their radios.

"Sir!" Shouted one of the men behind him, trying to make himself heard over the bellow of the engine. "We have three life signs up ahead."

Khoran slammed on the breaks. Various sets of tires outside squealed. "What kind?" He asked.

The marine answered nervously. "They appear to be Humans. They're in some kind of vehicle. Almost a mile ahead, if they haven't seen us I'll be surprised though."

"They must have a ship somewhere." Muttered Khoran absently. "We're going to capture them." He told his men. "Listen carefully."

 **0**

Two of the three Alliance marines knelt on the seats in the tram, looking at the three APCs through the windows. One with a set of binoculars. While the third was trying to radio for support. Trying, and failing. "I can't get a hold of Harry." He told them gravely. "Or the _Normandy_."

"Well they're still not doing anything, and they've been there for almost an hour." Said the marine with the binoculars. "Maybe they think we've already got support incoming."

"Maybe." Said the third. Unconvinced.

"Oh shit!" Shouted Binoculars. "One of the APCs is headed this way! It's gonna ram us!"

Radio looked up and made a snap decision. "When I say go, we jump out and run for the rocks for cover." The other two nodded while Radio began watching the APC as it sped towards them. He waited until he could almost see the thing's driver before bellowing at the top of his lungs "GO!"

The three of them leapt from the tram just as the APC smashed into it. With a sound of crunching metal the front of the APC was reduced to scrap, the tram was shunted almost three meters but suffered no damage. Although the marines didn't notice because the three of them were sprinting towards the edge of the boulevard.

But they came to a skidding stop as ten Batarians leapt up onto the boulevard and fired. The Alliance marines barely had time to fire back as their kinetic barriers collapsed and their legs were cut out from under them by a hail of bullets. The Batarians rushed up, kicking their guns away. They were grabbed by their arms and dragged towards the ruined APC where a tall Batarian was inspecting the tram's exterior.

They were thrown down before him, into a painful kneeling position. They could see their own blood forming a puddle around them, the three of them were getting light headed. The Batarian was running his hand over the area where the APC had hit the tram. "This thing is incredible." He looked at the middle marine. "Don't you think?"

"I cannot answer that question sir." Said the marine weakly. Swaying slightly.

The Batarian looked down at them. "You do realise you're about to die? There is literally no reason for me not to torture you for information." He paused for effect. "Now, where is your ship?"

"I'm sorry sir I cannot answer that question." Responded the same marine.

"That's going to get annoying." Muttered the Batarian.

Another Batarian stepped out of the tram. "Admiral, two of the controls have been labelled. But I can't read them."

The Admiral gave a thin smile. "Well luckily for us, I probably can." One of the Marines collapsed, and the other two looked ready to at any moment. "These three are already dead anyway."

Khoran stepped into the vehicle the marines had been guarding and stepped up to the control panel. It was covered in various crystal runes. Two of them had strips of paper underneath with 'home' written on one and 'away' written on the other. He placed his hand on the 'home' rune and felt a button beneath his fingers.

He stepped away from the panel and back out of the tram. All three of the Humans had collapsed now, they would be dead soon enough. The fifteen marines that had come with him when he'd fled the base were waiting, looking up at him expectantly. He looked at the four large turbines attached to the vehicle. It was clearly going to be much faster than the APCs. Khoran took a moment to ponder his situation.

"Everyone in here now. We're going after the Alliance ship." He ordered.

Once all the marines were aboard he once again placed his hand on the rune. He felt his fingers over the button and imagined pushing it. He felt the button depress, he heard the turbines begin to power up. Khoran smiled to himself.

 **o0o**

Harry picked his way through the rocky swamp. He tried to be quiet as he did so, but occasionally his foot would slip into a shallow pool of water. The quiet splash never failed to sound as loud as a gunshot to his ears as it split the silence of the bog. But even so, he and the squad had made incredible progress through the difficult terrain. According to the rough map they had drawn they were almost at the Batarian base. So close he had decided to send a scout group ahead when the squad had rested last.

His radio crackled and a voice spoke to him. "Sergeant, we're at the Batarian base. And you're not going to believe this."

Harry crested the rocks and stepped into the Batarian base. Which was utterly silent. And filled with corpses. He walked past the piles of body parts as blood leaked from them, forming deep puddles of red. Most of the Batarians had been sliced apart, carved up like a Christmas goose. But some had suffered horrifically, their insides apparently having been liquefied. But no matter how they had died, each Batarians face held a rictus of horror.

"What could have done this?" Asked a marine quietly.

Harry shook his head. "I don't know." He admitted, trying not vomit. "But it wasn't the Geth. We need to contact Shepard."

 **0**

Shepard tugged at the controls gingerly as building flew past them. They made relatively slow progress through the city as Shepard got used to the controls. Ashley clutched her seat as Shepard nearly careened into another building. "I think I'm getting the hang of it now." Shepard told her gleefully. As she just managed to miss a bridge.

"Shepard." Said Kaiden. "Sergeant Harry has requested we join him at the Batarian base."

"No can do. We don't know how to get there, and I think I've just spotted an airlock." She pointed to a door that did look like it opened to outside the dome the city was in. She began steering towards it, a smile on her face. Ashley clutched her seat tighter as Shepard cranked up the speed.

"Shepard. He said that the Batarians are all dead." Kaiden told her.

Shepard slammed on the breaks. The car just hang in the air. "Wait what?" Shepard sat and thought for a moment. "Well we still don't know how to get there. But tell him to fall back, it was probably the Geth and they may still be around."

 **o0o**

Yriel all but fell into the shrine, and he vomited up yet another mouthful of blood. _There can't be that much blood left._ He thought as he staggered towards the row of nine pods ahead of him, in the centre of the shrine. Beyond them a tall statue of the god Khaine looked down upon him. Yriel took the time to bow to the statue before staggering slowly to the pods.

He fell into the first pod and slid down the side, failing to stop himself hitting the floor. He opened his mouth and a tide of blood fell to the floor. And not only blood, thin scraps of his internal organs came with it. Yriel pulled himself into a kneeling position and reached for the activation rune. He could only hope that the Exarchs would awaken before anyone found the shrine.

 **o0o**

The vehicle sped through the dark tunnels, slowly ascending up the incline. Khoran was looking out the back window, his torch illuminating the ground as it swept away into the dark. Khoran kept expecting the devil to leap out at him, and drag him to the same hell it had sent his soilders.

Suddenly he was illuminated, and flying through a huge and truly beautiful city. The buildings below and around him appeared as if they'd grown from ground like spires of bone. A few minutes later they touched down in a seemingly ordinary part of the city.

"Spread out." He told his men. "The Human vessel must be around here somewhere."

His men nodded and scattered into small groups, searching up and down the street. Khoran walked to the edge of the street and looked down into the city below. What he saw made his blood run cold. Standing on a road suspended in the sky, was the devil. It's long purple coat billowed as if caught in a wind. The devil looked up and pointed a long finger at him. Khoran knew what it was saying. _I'm coming for you!_

"Admiral, we've found a room with some kind of defence." A marine behind him said.

"That's what we're looking for." Said Khoran hurriedly. He looked round at the marine. "Gather the men." He glanced back at the road below, and saw nothing.

Khoran looked into the room the marines had found. It was bathed in a purple light and full of trees and chairs. But he could see a door in the far wall. He stepped in slowly, and immediately he felt the effect the marines had mentioned. A palpable sadness beat down on him. He could feel every joy he had ever felt get driven from his body, from his very soul.

He steeled himself and continued to walk towards the far wall. The marines followed close behind him. Each one struggling just as much with the room's horrible effect.

But a few moments later they had crossed the room and stepped into the dark tunnels beyond. They were in an intersection. The three tunnels had been marked with a tall lamp, each one a different colour. Khoran walked with confidence down the tunnel marked with a green light. _Humans are so predictable._ He thought

 **o0o**

Tali put the apple down in front of Isana. It had been cut into eight thick slices and Isana chomped away at them greedily. "Slow down." Admonished Tali gently. "You'll choke."

Isana shook her head, her blonde hair flying wildly. "I'm chewing properly, like mama says."

Tali smiled at her and Isana smiled back. "Isana." Began Tali. "There's something that's been bothering me. How do you understand us?" She asked.

Isana looked away sheepishly. "Yriel said, I mean Honoured Autarch Yriel said I shouldn't say. He said it's a secret just for the Eldar."

"What's an Eldar?" Asked Tali.

Isana giggled. "I'm an Eldar silly."

Tali blushed. "Obviously. But I can keep your secret, I am your friend after all."

"Well I suppose." Muttered Isana. She looked around the mess, checking that no one was looking her way. Then she pulled out a small sphere from her pocket. "Yriel gave me a trans, a transla. A thingy sphere. It helps me understand you. I'm speaking Elderathi right now, but the thingy sphere is changing the words you hear." Tali looked impressed. "You promise to keep it a secret?" Asked Isana pleadingly.

Tali was about to give her promise of secrecy when a grave faced Anderson stepped up to them. "The Alliance have been told not interfere any further by the Council. They're not sending in any more reinforcements. And we've been told to withdraw." He said.

"Does the council know about what's happened on the ship?" Asked Tali.

Anderson shook his head. "I don't know what the Council have been told. But more important is what happens now. I have to withdraw, and we can't take Isana with us. It's illegal to take her anywhere without her parents permission."

"But with the Geth and the Batarians, we can't leave her behind." Whispered Tali, drawing Isana close. "And with Yriel... You know." Tali waved her hand meaningfully.

Anderson nodded. "We have until Shepard gets back. I don't know when she will though, we can't get a hold of her over the radio. I'll have a decision by then." Anderson gave Tali a meaningful look. "But I will point out that you are not technically part of my crew. And as such, when the time came we could leave you here." Tali nodded back and hugged Isana tighter. "I'll have our quartermaster put together a pack for you, food a gun and so on." Tali nodded her thanks.

Isana giggled. "Don't worry Tali, mama will be awake soon." Anderson and Tali smiled.

Anderson's radio beeped. He activated the receiver in his ear and Tali heard one side of the conversation. "Here? How many? How did they find us?"

"What's happening?" Asked Tali fearfully.

"Batarians. Over fifteen of them, we've only had twelve marines on board, six of them were on guard."Anderson paused and glanced down at Isana, who looked terrified. "They're not anymore." He said pointedly. "If they get on board we won't be able to stop them taking the ship. You need to get Isana out of here while you still can."

"Can't we leave on the _Normandy_?" Asked Tali.

"We can't. We need Shepard to open the outer door remember." He told her gravely.

 **0**

Khoran led his men through the gloom of the tunnels. And he was very thankful that the Humans had left behind those lights. He was very sure he would've gotten lost by now. His scanner would have been no help in the tunnels either. As soon as they'd stepped into them their communicators, the scanners had both gone blank.

The scout he had sent ahead came running back. "Admiral. We've found the Humans ship. It's in some kind of vehicle pool. Two rows of vehicles with the Human ship at the far end of them. It's only got six Humans guarding it. I've sent five men to cut them off if they retreat."

"How far ahead is it?" Asked Khoran.

"Only about five hundred meters." Said the marine.

"Double time it." Ordered Khoran. Picking up his own pace, he led the marines to the dimply lit entrance to the vehicle pool. He could see how easy it would be to sneak past the Humans. They didn't seem to be paying any attention to the entrance. But he was still careful when looking around the corner. He could see the scouts preparing the ambush the Humans from behind. He looked around the room, the vehicles were sitting in cradles and the two closest to the doors. They were close enough to sneak by even if the Humans were looking. If they were subtle enough.

He turned to his men, and gave them the nod. Ten men rounded the corner with a shout and began firing.

Soon the long room was filled with projectiles as the Humans fired back whilst cowering behind the boxes they were using as cover. But the five Batarian marines burst out of their hiding places and fired upon the open backs of the Humans. Their kinetic barriers collapsed in moments, the Humans were cut to ribbons a moment after.

Khoran stepped out into the room and straight behind the closest vehicle. As did everyone else. He walked along to the back wall where he could see his men having done the same. They looked to him for guidance, he gave them the hand signal to start searching the area but to stay out of sight. He knew the Human ship would have guns on it somewhere and he'd rather not get his men shot by ship grade weaponry.

 **0**

Tali carried Isana, holding her close to her chest. The Marine Anderson had sent with her looked around the corner, checking for Batarians. They had scattered soon after killing the guards, and they would be heading towards the _Normandy_ , but they would be doing to out of sight of the _Normandy's_ guns. So this was the only opportunity they would have to sneak past.

The marine waved her forwards and Tali took a tentative step towards the exit. She quickly stepped past the gap between the two Falcons grav tanks (their name having been supplied by Isana). The marine stepped past her and looked down the gap between the two tanks. He waved her forward again. And over the course of five nerve racking minutes they crawled towards the exit. As soon as they got there they would be away, free.

It took a few minutes of moving silently they finally reached the exit. Tali was stepping into the dark tunnels and breathing a sigh of relief when she heard a Batarian shout. "Get the child! She's from the ship!"

"Run!" Ordered the marine and Tali did so without thinking. She heard the distinctive rattle of rifles firing, the fizz of collapsing shields and a cry of pain.

"Tali." Whimpered Isana as they heard the clump of boots behind them. Tali didn't dare to look behind her as she heard rubber skidding across the floor. The bark of the rifle seemed to be the loudest thing she had ever heard. Her legs collapsed beneath her and Isana screamed as they fell to the floor. Isana crawled out from under Tali and pulled on her arm. "Come on Tali." She said desperately. Tali could only look down dumbly at the blood pouring out of her legs.

Isana quailed as the Batarian stepped over to them, a sneer on his face. He aimed his rifle at Tali's head. Then a small crystalline spider, hanging off a microscopic thread, lowered itself onto his gun. It stood on the very end of his rifle and waved it's two forelegs at him. He looked at it closely. "What is that?" He asked himself quietly. As if answering him the spider jumped into his face. And sank it's fangs into his eye.

He screeched in pain and fell backwards. He rolled across the floor trying to kill his minuscule attacker, slapping his hand down on it. But he never struck home, each time his hand came down the spider jumped and bit again. A few moments later, he was dead. And the spider was gone.

Tali looked at the swollen, poisoned corpse of the Batarian dumbfounded. She felt Isana wrap her arms around her in a warm hug. "I wish my mama was here." Whispered Isana.


	19. Chapter 19

**Authors note:** First off I should like to say something I should have said much earlier. I really and truly appreciate all the support everyone has given me, from 5 Coloured Walker on who's reviews have really helped me think about what I am writing to everyone who has given me one word reviews of "Great!"

It does all mean a lot to me.

Second a bit of a lesson in Eldar language that will be VERY important moving on; The Eldar term 'mon-keigh' does not refer exclusively to Humans. The term itself refers to a creature or creatures from Eldar myth, it's sort of a flesh eating monster like the bogeyman(ish). And Eldar use the term to refer to basically any "lesser race".

So when an Eldar uses the term 'mon-keigh' they don't necessarily mean Human.

Third: I have included a list of names for the Eldar characters at the bottom of the chapter.

 **Mass Exodus**

 **Chapter 16**

Khoran snuck through the shadows thrown by the elegant tanks that filled the room. He spun around as he heard the shouts "Get the child! She's from the ship!"

"NO!" He bellowed. "Don't separate!" But it was too late, his men had scattered. Four of them disappeared through the door into the black tunnels beyond.

Khoran's personal radio activated. "Having trouble?" Tittered a familiar voice. "I guess it's true, you just cannot find the staff these days." Khoran looked around. All his men were gone. The voice gave a sympathetic sounding. "Awww. Your little toy soldiers been taken by the bigger boys?"

"Shut up." Hissed Khoran, falling back against the wall.

The voice laughed. "But don't worry. I have a new game you can play." The voice swallowed nervously, Khoran's eyebrows raised slightly. "Solitaire."

Khoran looked around and saw, It. The Devil. Walking towards him, it's long purple coat billowed around It. It's left hand was coated in a rippling blue energy field. Khoran went to raise his gun. He didn't see It move, but he felt it grip his heart. Looking down he saw It had plunged It's hand into his chest. He looked into It's eyes. The two fathomless black pits returned his gaze. The hand squeezed. And Khoran died in agony.

 **o0o**

Shepard set the aircar down next to the entrance to the shrine. She clambered out of the car and looked around. "That's not right." She muttered as she set eyes on the tram.

"What's not right?" Asked Kaiden.

Shepard pointed at the tram. "There is no way Harry could have gotten here before us." She said looking at Kaiden who had already pulled out his radio.

"Harry. Come in sergeant." He called into the transceiver.

"Receiving." Responded the crackly voice of the marine sergeant.

Shepard grabbed the transceiver from Kaiden. "Sergeant." She began. "What is your situation."

"We've fallen back from the Batarian base, we're headed back to the tram. I'm worried though. I've been trying and failing to get a hold of the men I left the guard it." He told her.

"I want you to double time back to where you left the tram sergeant." Shepard ordered.

"Yes ma'am-wait, what do you mean left?"

"I think someone stole the tram." She told him. "Get back to where the tram landed, we're heading there now. Shepard out." She handed the radio back to Kaiden.

"Commander?" Said Ashley catching Shepards attention. "Whoever took the tram is probably headed for the _Normandy_."

Shepard nodded. "You're probably right. But we've got to find out what happened to the Batarians, if it was the Geth that destroyed their base then they must have a way of getting to their own base relatively close by." She reasoned. "Come on." She pointed to the tram and began walking. Ashley and Kaiden followed close behind.

Barely half an hour later Shepard and her group were stepping off the tram, and inspecting the area around them. "Shepard!" Called Ashley. Shepard turned and saw what Ashley had found. Three bodies, lying in pools of their own blood.

"Load them onto one of these APC's." Shepard told her, pointing to Batarian vehicles up the road. "We can't leave them here, we need some form of transportation anyway."

A few minutes later the three men were laying in the back of a Batarian APC that Shepard was driving along the boulevard. While her two companions stared in wonder at the mountain in the middle of the dome.

 **o0o**

Tali listened to Isana whimper as she clung to the Quarians arm. Tali hadn't moved from her position slumped against the wall. She was getting colder and weaker as blood slowly leaked out of the wounds on her legs. Her suit had automatically tightened, tourniquets attempted to cut off and staunch blood flow. But the system wasn't perfect and she would soon die if she didn't receive medical assistance.

Isana's face was momentarily illuminated by a purple light. Her face was overcome by a look of relief. Tali tried to look around, but she was overcome by weakness. A flash of silver made her look down. She saw a red, muscled arm curl around her neck. But attached like a vambrace was a huge blade, and it was inches from her throat.

"No!" Shouted Isana. "You can't hurt Tali!" She begged. The arm stopped moving. A few tense moments passed before it withdrew silently. Isana looked up at whoever was behind Tali. "She and the Humans, they're here to help."

A voice spoke. To Tali's ears it sounded like the chattering of insects given form. "Where is your mother child?" It asked.

"I don't know." Answered Isana. "It was Honoured Autarch Yriel who woke me up. He said there was a problem with my pod." Isana swallowed nervously as the figure stepped forward and came into Tali's view. It was tall, as tall as Yriel. It's thick armour was coloured black and red. On it's back sat a huge pack that hummed with energy. Other than it's bladed arms it had two extra mechanical arms, tipped with bizarre nozzles. "Are you going to help Tali?" Asked Isana.

The figure turned to look at Tali, the two eyes in it's tall helm glowed menacingly. "I will take her back to her ship." It said. "Then I will stay with you till the others find your mother." It crouched down and scooped Tali off the floor using the blunt sides of his blades. Tali groaned as she was moved roughly.

"Yay." Said Isana quietly, giving a beaming smile.

 **o0o**

"Where exactly are you taking me?" Asked Saren.

His guide spun around to look at him momentarily. She continued to skip down through the bottom of the valley they were in. "I am taking you exactly where you need to be." She answered in a manner that seemed to imply that was all he needed to know.

Saren gave an exasperated snort. He had been with her for barely half an hour and she was still getting on his nerves in a big way. "And where exactly is that?"

She sighed as if he was being the unreasonable one. "Well if you must know I'm taking you to the lair of the four eyed fool."

It took Saren a second to decipher her meaning. "You mean the Batarian base." He said, he stopped walking. His hand went instinctively to his holster, which was empty.

Celsys stopped moving and turned to look at him. "I promise I am not handing you over to the Batarians." She said with uncharacteristic seriousness. "My troupe have already killed off all the four eyed fools anyway." She said with a chilling laugh.

"Well, ok then." Said Saren as he began walking again.

Celsys suddenly grabbed him and pushed him under a nearby over-hang. She pushed him into the shadows and pressed her back up against him. She waved her staff around and the shadows visibly lengthened. "Don't move, or make a sound." She told him. Saren didn't even have room to nod.

Less than a second later a figure landed in the valley with a hard thud. They were tall, wearing close fitting turquoise armour with dark green accents. On their back was a pair of huge artificial wings. They carried a long black rifle close against his chest, ready to fire at a moments notice. The tall feather in their white helmet quivered as they scanned the area. Saren stopped breathing as they looked into the shadows he was hidden in. Apparently what Celsys did was effective as the winged figure launched themselves back into the sky with a single leap.

A few moments later Celsys breathed a sigh of relief, and Saren released the breath he was holding as well. Celsys looked back over her shoulder at Saren. "Cosy in here isn't it." She said mischievously. Saren just pushed her out of his way and stalked back into the valley, his eyes on the skies. "You won't see him." Celsys told him. "He's long gone." She continued to walk down the valley as if nothing had happened.

"Who was that?" Asked Saren, following her.

"The exarch of Shrine of the Blinding Sun. He's a Swooping Hawk." She answered.

"Some kind of soldier?"

Celsys shrugged her shoulders. "More like a warrior monk. But yes I suppose a soldier. But if he's out and about then the rest must be as well. I hadn't anticipated that happening quite so soon. We'll have to be much more careful."

"Couldn't you fight him off?" Asked Saren hopefully. "You're pretty quick."

Celsys laughed. "Not a chance." She told him. "But something will have to be done about the Crimson Hunter."

 **o0o**

The exarch of the Crimson Hunter shrine of Iyanden walked towards his fighter, it's sleek, blood red form sitting in it's cradle just a few metres away. The craftworld had been invaded by aliens in small, clumsy ships. If any more came they would be easy pickings for the superior weaponry and grace of his fighter. He would not be letting any more mon-keigh onto his home.

"Think fast!" He heard a voice behind him call. He spun around and crouched at the same time. But a foot still contacted with the side of his head, knocking him unconscious. "That wasn't very fast." Admonished the voice.

 **o0o**

"Are we sure this is where Saren is?" Asked Wrex.

Garrus shrugged. "We don't know, but it is where Benezia was headed when she left Noveria." He told Wrex. The Krogan grumbled under his breath.

They looked up as a voice shouted through the door. "Uh guys." Sounded the voice of Liara, the Asari archaeologist they had picked up whilst looking for Saren. "You have got to come and see this."

The two men shrugged and started for the bridge. The ship belonged to G'dore Perdent, a Spectre. And the ship wasn't big. It was designed for scouting, speed and little else. Almost ninety percent of the ships mass was the engine, beyond that was the five rooms that were attached to the front of it. Three bedrooms (enough room for six people, in theory) a tiny mess/comms room and the cockpit. Wrex had to bend double to get through even the biggest door.

The two men clambered through the mess into the cockpit, although Wrex could only fit his head in with the other three already in there. G'dore sat at the controls, Liara was next to her in the co-pilot seat. Both of them were looking out the window slack jawed. Garrus' own mouth fell open in shock as he followed their gaze.

"Well that's a big ship." Said Wrex, slightly impressed. "Is their anything for lunch?" He asked.

"I, I've got to contact the Council." Said G'dore to herself.

 **0**

"Well the Council are annoyed." Announced G'dore as she stepped into the mess from the cockpit.

"What a shock." Grunted Wrex as he shovelled a large spoonful of high energy porridge oats into his mouth.

Liara grimaced at Wrex's lack of table manners and asked. "Why are the Council annoyed?"

G'dore slumped down into her seat. "Apparently the Systems Alliance had a large engagement with the Geth and the Batarians here, about two hours ago. And they told the Council, saying it was evidence they were working together. The Council said they would investigate, and decided they would send in a small Turian fleet, they'll be here soon by the way"

They also told the Systems Alliace to withdraw any ships still in the system. But the Systems Alliance failed to mention the huge ship Garrus is landing us on."

"What?" Said a confused Liara. "How could they fail to mention a potential first contact scenario?"

G'dore sighed. "Ambassador Udina didn't tell them deliberately. They aren't required to and he's saying they were going to handle the procedure themselves, to prove they were ready to be more involved in galactic affairs. And also they have people on board that ship, he refused to 'give away information that could endanger military operatives'."

Wrex laughed. "That's a crap excuse for a screw up."

G'dore nodded. "I get the feeling he would have told the Council everything had he known they were actually going to do something about the Geth this time. But he was trying to play his hand close to the chest and it backfired big time. Now there are people calling for Udina to get fired, and even more people saying this proves how immature the Human race is and that the Council should handle the first contact."

Wrex slurped at his bowl before saying. "So basically Udina did everything wrong on a gamble and now it's all going udders skyward."

G'dore nodded. "I've been told to touch down on the ship and make contact on behalf of the Council and hold everything together until the Turians get here."

The whole ship shuddered before a loud clump came from below them. "We've touched down." Shouted Garrus. "I've landed us next to the Human base."

G'dore turned around and looked out the window. "Those are Batarians pre-fabs!" She bellowed.

 **0**

The four of them crept through the defences of the Batarian base, passing the chest high walls. They held their rifles high, scanning for any enemies that might leap out at them. There was nothing on their scanners but they were taking no chances. Wrex took point, his huge shotgun sweeping around menacingly. G'dore pointed to a round door on a nearby wall. Wrex nodded and rushed forward. His back hit the wall with a thump although only he heard it in the vacuum of space. He motioned to Garrus who rushed forward and pulled the control panel off the wall. Liara and G'dore joined them, taking positions on the opposite side of the door as Garrus worked on overriding the lock.

The door snapped open silently. And all four of them rushed in, guns ready to fire. As expected they found the inner airlock door. Garrus got to work on the controls, closing the outer door and pressurising the room. He gave the nod and they deactivated their rebreathers. All but Wrex retched as they breathed in the acrid tang of blood. Garrus opened the inner door and three guns sprang up. But there was only empty corridor beyond.

They made their way quickly through the base. Finding nothing but empty quiet and the constant smell of blood. Then they found the mess hall. Twenty one dead Batarians sat in chairs, their faces given rictus grins by whoever had killed them. But most chillingly, each of them were clutching knives and forks, and seemed ready to eat their own hearts. Which sat on plates in front of each of them.

"In the name of the spirits." Muttered Garrus. He tried to keep his gorge down as he heard the sounds of Liara pulling off her helmet and vomiting.

"Well this is new." Said Wrex as he inspected the bodies. He pushed the closest one forward to reveal the huge hole in it's back. "Well that's how they did it." He said matter of factly. He turned to G'dore who was getting Liara back on her feet.

"Come on." Said G'dore. "We should find out if the Batarians got aboard the ship proper."

"We should pull back." Said Garrus. "Whoever did this is almost certainly still around. I don't know how they pulled someone's heart out and I'm not eager to find out."

G'dore shook her head. "No, I need to make contact on behalf of the Council. They need to know the Batarians do not accurately represent the galaxy at large."

Wrex shrugged. "I imagine the Humans have already done that." He said gruffly.

She scowled. "And I need to undo all the damage they've done." She muttered before stalking off.

It took them almost an hour to find the way onto the ship. The bizarre set up they found confused them for a few moments, until Liara actually read some of the reports that were lying around. "According to this." She said. "This stuff is stronger and tougher than basically any material in the known galaxy."

"Really?" Asked G'dore.

"The only way they could get through it was to bore through with a tungsten gear." Revealed Liara. Garrus whistled, or at least as close as a Turian could manage.

G'dore pointed to the door that lead to the hole into the ship. Garrus nodded as he stepped over to it. He unlocked the door and looked to the other three, who shouldered their weapons. G'dore nodded back and Garrus flung open the door. Revealing the small tunnel beyond. "How the hell am I gonna fit in that." Rumbled Wrex.

 **o0o**

Iyanna woke up slowly. The haze that had been clouding her mind slowly fell away and she remembered what had happened when she had last woken up. She felt momentarily ashamed that someone had taken advantage of her disorientation, she quickly quashed it. What had happened had happened and their was nothing that could be done about it now. She cast about her mind to become completely aware of her surroundings.

She was immediately aware of Asaya, lead exarch of the Dire Avengers shrine, and Drakana, the lead exarch of the Shining Spears shrine. And Yriel, nearly dead, along with the still comatose seer council. Iyanna rose and looked at Asaya, who immediately stepped over to her and bowed low. Iyanna took notice of the Wave Serpent behind him.

"Honoured Spiritseer." He greeted.

She bowed back even as she gracefully climbed out of the pod she was in. "What has happened?" She asked him.

He lead her over to the medical chair that Yriel was sitting in, the Spear of Twilight laying across his lap. Iyanna knelt down to look in has face. It was sunken and pale, but his eyes still held the great defiance that characterised his life.

"Yriel was woken by the craftworld." Explained Asaya. "It has taken a toll on his body. We have succeeded in travelling to another universe, but this one is inhabited. He told me that there are three groups of mon-keigh on the craftworld. Two of the groups were hostile, the first has been driven off by Oladra. I have sent Magron and Desaad to retrieve her Spirit Stone. Samfire is currently awakening the rest of the aspect warriors, of all the shrines. Helios is preparing to defend the craftworlds airspace from any more mon-keigh incursion."

Zarast and Samaroth are searching the area surrounding the second mon-keigh base, they say it's been destroyed but we don't know what by. It may have been the third group of mon-keigh but we don't know. I've sent Spiranok to make contact with them."

"Make contact?" Questioned Iyanna. "Why?"

"Yriel made contact with them first, and he believes they are trustworthy. Despite being Human." Explained Asaya. "And..." Asaya paused. Nervousness came off him in waves. Iyanna motioned for him to continue. "He had to leave your daughter in their care."

Iyanna turned away. The air grew colder, static leaped off rocks as her rage became a palpable force. She forced herself to be calm as she turned back to Asaya. She cast her mind wide, searching for the Warp Spider exarch. She found him and initiated psychic contact.

 **o0o**

Anderson regarded the new Eldar carefully. He had been standing close by Isana the whole time he had been on board. Isana herself was sitting in the mess and staring worriedly at the medical bay door where Tali was being treated for her wounds. Anderson had tried to talk to the (he presumed) man, but he had maintained his wall of silence. But if he really had killed the Batarians in the room outside then they were lucky he was only guarding Isana.

Suddenly the room's temperature dropped noticeably. Isana looked to her new guardian expectantly. He had simply cocked his head, as if listening to something. A pregnant moment passed before he nodded and finally spoke, in a horrible droning voice. "Lady Isana, your mother is awake and has requested that I take you to her."

"But what about Tali." She complained weakly.

"Your mother brooked no argument." He said. He turned to Anderson. "Mon-keigh I thank you for your guardianship on behalf of Honoured Spiritseer Iyanna, but she has asked you to leave the craftworld."

Anderson nodded. "Her thanks are not necessary, but you should tell her we cannot leave yet. We still have men and women on the craftworld."

A few moments of silence passed. "She has sent a warrior to find your soldiers and inform them of her decision." He turned back to Isana. "Lady Isana we must go. It will be a long trip back to your mother."

Oladra – Wraithlord

Iyanna Arianel – Spiritseer

Asaya – Exarch, Dire Avengers

Drakana – Exarch, Shining Spears

Spiranok – Exarch, Warp Spiders

Magron – Exarch, Dark Reapers

Samfire – Exarch, Howling Banshees

Zarast – Exarch, Striking Scorpions

Helios – Exarch, Crimson Hunters

Samaroth – Exarch, Swooping Hawks

Desaad – Exarch, Fire Dragons


	20. Chapter 20

**Merry Christmas. I got you all a double length update!**

 **Mass Exodus**

 **Chapter 17**

Saren could honestly say he was one of the healthiest men he knew. Even by the standards of Turians, even by the standards of Spectres he was incredibly fit. But even he was being put through the ringer by Celsys brutal pace. It didn't help that due to her 'flip belt' she could casually ignore the larger obstacles that slowed Saren considerably. And it wasn't long before they had reached the woods.

But as soon as they reached the woods Celsys slowed down and began to move much more warily. And she moved silently, the fallen leaves didn't even crinkle as she stepped onto them. Saren sounded like a lumbering giant in comparison. The first sound Celsys made while in the woods was her muttering. "We're not going to get there in time." She looked up to the sky, as if looking for something. "Which of your arms is stronger?" She asked.

Saren gave her a wary look. "My left has had some bionic enhancement. So it should be stronger. Why?"

"Don't worry about it." She answered with a giggle.

They continued to walk for a few more silent minutes when Celsys stopped completely, she put out her hand to stop Saren as well. "What is going on?" He asked quietly. Celsys didn't answer. She just scanned the area around them. She swallowed nervously.

"How did he find us so quickly?" She asked no one in particular. Before kicking Saren in the chest. The tree he was standing beside seemed to explode into thin shards of wood. The upper part of the tree slammed into the floor and it fell slowly, crashing through the branches of the other trees.

"In the name of the spirits!" Bellowed Saren. He looked at where the tree had been and saw a stump, neatly cut across. But he couldn't see what had cut it. Celsys pulled him up off the floor and dragged him through the woods as fast as the two of them could manage. "What was that?!" Demanded Saren as his feet pounded across the forest floor.

"That was Zarast the Striking Scorpion!" She answered breathlessly. "We cannot let him catch us! Or we will die!"

She spun on her feet and pulled Saren off balance, he fell and spun around to try and see his attacker. He saw a flash of green, and two black swords scissor across each other, exactly where his neck was barely a second ago. His attacker looked down, a air of red eyes streaked across Saren's vision. And the two black nozzles on the side of it's face fired.

The armour of Saren's chest melted as two bolts of energy slammed into him and Saren screamed in pain. Celsys slammed her staff into their attackers face, knocking him off balance. He rolled into a crouch and Saren finally saw the swords in detail. They were a pair of long chainsaw swords. The silver teeth glinted in the light. Celsys pulled Saren onto his feet and stepped in front of him, brandishing her staff at the armoured figure.

It spoke to her in a gruff voice. "I don't know why you are here laughing one. Or why you are defending the mon-keigh. But it is my prey and it will die."

Celsys laughed quietly, mockingly. "I'm afraid I cannot allow that. You see he is very important to the future of this galaxy."

"That does not matter. We will follow our brothers of Biel-Tan and kill all of the mon-keigh in this galaxy, such decisions were made long before we left our own universe." He said ominously.

Celsys waved off his words. "I wouldn't worry about all that, I have taken steps to prevent such a horrible occurrence."

Saren could almost see his eyes narrow dangerously. "I don't wish to alarm you Celsys." He coughed. "But I really need to see some kind of doctor about the burns on my chest."

"Don't worry Saren." She sighed. "It'll all be fine. Just hold up your left arm." Saren looked at her incredibly confused, but he did as he was told. Celsys' eyes had not left her opponent, who had not moved at all. "I am sorry about the shoulder Saren." She said.

It was then that Saren heard a high pitched whine. Like a turbine, and Saren realised her plan. And he realised this was going to hurt, a lot. But their armoured opponent realised the plan as well and leapt forward. Becoming little more than a green blur that sped towards them. He jumped up, kicking Celsys in the face so quickly she didn't even have time to react. She fell to a crumpled heap on the floor. Saren couldn't even process the speed of the chainswords that were about to cut him to pieces, let alone react to them.

But the swords hit nothing but air. Saren was saved at the last moment by someone looping a noose of ribbon around his outstretched arm and dragging him away through the woods. Has saviour pulled him fully onto the jetbike. Saren could only bellow in pain as his now dislocated arm flopped around limply.

 **0**

Shepard watched the ground disappear beneath the APC as she drove at high speeds along the boulevard. They were quickly approaching the smoking remains of the Batarian base. Shepard could only hope they found some clues as to what was happening around here. And maybe find a way up to the Geth base.

She slowed the APC down to a crawl as it approached the outer edge of the base. The three of them sat quietly and watched it for any signs of life. Ready to retreat or fight as the situation demanded. Then they saw a figure walking between the tents. Shepard couldn't quite believe her eyes. "Is that? Garrus?" She asked Ashley.

 **0**

G'dore, Laira and Garrus watched as Wrex tried and failed to maintain his dignity as he crawled out of the hole they had come through. The tall Krogan raised himself to his full height and pulled out his gun. He gave them a look that told them exactly what would happen if anyone else found out about this. He stepped past them into the Batarian base proper. The other three followed close behind him checking down the gaps between tents. But when they got further into the base they found the Batarians.

The dead were heaped in piles of limbs and blood. Each one of them had been killed by a single slash that had either (literally) disarmed them, disembowelled them or beheaded them. Every cut was smooth and clean, as if neither bone nor armour had offered any resistance. Some of the bodies had even been arranged in grim tableaux. Here a man was sitting down to eat with no head, there two men played dice for their own left arms.

"This wasn't Geth." Muttered Liara, struggling to maintain her composure. "Geth don't do this."

"No one does this."Growled Wrex.

"There's a vehicle out there." Said Garrus, pointing towards one edge of the base. "It's got three life signs in it." He told them while adjusting his visor.

"Batarian?" Asked G'dore.

Garrus shook his head. "Can't tell."

G'dore considered this for a moment. "Let's get closer."

A few second later Garrus was looking at the APC closely through his visor. "Someone inside it is moving." He said into his radio. His rifle was pointed at the top hatch and he was ready to dive into cover at a moments notice. "They're opening the top hatch."

"Just cover them, don't fire." Ordered G'dore. She and Wrex were sneaking around the side, ready to break open the vehicle with their combined biotic strength.

The hatch slid open and a pair of empty hands poked out of the top. A head followed. A female head with short red hair. "Hey Garrus!" Called Shepard cheerfully. "How's things?" Garrus could only smile and shrug.

"Shepard!" Bellowed G'dore. "You were ordered by the Council NOT to go after Saren!"

Shepard turned to where G'dore had stepped out of cover followed by a grinning Wrex. "I'm not here after Saren." She implored, still grinning. "I didn't even know he was here. Hey Wrex." She waved at the Krogan. Wrex guffawed a laugh and waved back. Shepard climbed out of the hatch, followed by Ashley and Kaiden.

Liara stepped out into the open. "Commander Shepard?" She asked. Shepard waved at her as she jumped from the APC, hitting the ground with a thud. Liara ran up to her excitedly. "Commander, is it true you made contact with a Prothean beacon?" She asked in wonder.

"Yes it's true, miss..." Shepard smiled at the young Asari and waved a hand in Liara's direction.

Liara blushed. "Oh sorry. I am Liara T'Soni. I'm an archaeologist, I study the Protheans and I would love to hear everything about the experience."

Shepard's smile somehow became wider and she was about to speak when G'dore stormed up to her and began shouting. "Shepard! What the hell are you doing here?!"

Shepard turned to her with a huff. "We arrived in system about five hours ago. We noticed the presence of both Geth and Batarians on the ship. My captain decided that we must help the crew of the ship in any way we can and open official diplomatic lines, begin first contact procedure and so forth. We made contact with a member of the crew. And I don't feel I can reveal anything else to you." Shepard gave her a sickly sweet smile.

G'dore snorted with anger. "I am a Spectre of the Citadel. And you will tell me exactly wh-"

She was interrupted by a staccato clapping from behind her. Everyone turned to see a tall man in a long black coat, a grinning grey mask and a tall white mohawk. Beneath the coat he was wearing a thick belt, tight leggings and a leather tunic. All of them were covered in black and white diamonds that seemed to shift and dance whenever he moved. Off his belt hung a scabbard containing a sword with a handle like that of a rapier. He stepped forward smoothly, placing one foot in front of the other.

"Well then." He said in a sing song voice. "The players are all here. The stage is set. The orchestra is waiting strike its sound. We await only the queue to begin." As he spoke he walked amongst the group, gesturing wildly at nothing in particular.

"Who are you?" Asked G'dore.

The man bowed in the lowest, most theatrical manner that any of them had ever seen. "I am Isendad. Great Harlequin of the Troupe of The Sundered Smile. At your service my lady." He gently took G'dore's hand and pressed it to the lips of his mask.

G'dore politely took her hand back. "And you are a crew member for this ship?" She asked warily.

Isendad shook his head. "I, am but a humble stowaway." He cupped a hand to his ear and leaned to the side. "But such questions and explanations are for later. I hear the approach of our leading man." He swung his arm out towards the sky just as some kind of flying bike flew over and dropped someone right in front of them all. Saren gave out a screech of pain as he landed.

G'dore sprung into action, pulling up her rifle and pointing it towards Saren. "Saren Arterius! You are under arrest by order of the Citadel Council."

"There is no need for the gun my dear." Called out a female voice. A tall woman leapt from another of the bikes as it sped overhead, she landed and immediately fell into a deep curtsy. Her head was covered by a purple veil, her mask was a mirror instead of a grinning face, and she lacked the long coat, but other than that she was exactly the same as Isendad. "He is quite incapable of harming anyone, his arm is dislocated and he's struggling to breath at the moment."

"Our illustrious director!" Called Isendad. He rushed gracefully over to the newcomer and bowed, kissing her hand as he had done so with G'dore. "Celsys my dear you have outdone yourself."

She threw her head back and laughed loudly. "Isendad you are to kind. It wasn't quite as good as all that I'm sure."

"Ok! Time out!" Shouted a confused Shepard. "Someone has exactly five seconds to tell me exactly what the heck is going on!"

Isendad cocked his head as he looked at her. She wasn't the only one who was confused, they all stared at him, looking for an explanation. He tittered quietly. "The time for answers will come momentarily." He looked up at the sky again, and his voice turned serious. " But now, the final act is nigh. The next few minutes will decide the fate of billions."

They all followed his gaze and it fell upon a flying tank. It's sweeping curves were painted bright yellow with blue decals. It flew gracefully through the sky, it's turbines producing surprisingly little sound. It 'landed' near them all and spun around revealing it's now open back ramp. Out of the darkness stepped an impossibly regal figure.

Dressed in long yellow robes embroidered with blue runes and wielding a tall spear. Shepard could tell this was Isana's mother just from looking at her face. Although Isana's innocence was nowhere to be seen on this woman. She carried a look of anger, and impatience. Another figure followed her from the tank. This one was dressed in azure armour, a tall white helm with a black crest and he carried a long silver sword in one hand. His other hand was free but his vambrace had a long curved device (Shepard presumed it was some sort of hun) attached to it. And this time when Isendad and Celsys bowed, it was not with theatre, but with palpable respect.

"Honoured Spiritseer Iyanna Arianel." Greeted Isendad. "It is a pleasure to see you well." He said.

She regarded him silently for a few moments before speaking in a sharp, low voice. "No thanks to you I am sure clown. You let us get captured by a lesser race, of machines no less."

"Believe is or not." Said Celsys. "It was necessary. "

Iyanna's face darkened. "As was tampering with the awakening procedure so that Yriel would be called forth? And not the much calmer and less arrogant Autarch Sunspear? No I'm sure you had your reasons for all of this."

Isendad risked a small laugh. "Very reasonable reasons I think you'll agree. Once you hear them."

Iyanna gave a small smile and laughed quietly along with him. Isendad nodded happily. But Iyanna's face turned to a look of pure fury. "As was tampering with my daughters stasis pod." She spat.

For once Isendad seemed to be at a loss for words. All he could do was put up his hands in a placating gesture. "You must understand, it was for a good reason." He pleaded.

Iyanna didn't move, or say a word. The air grew colder. Isendad had time to swallow nervously before an invisible force slammed into him, throwing him through a nearby barricade with a mighty crash. Iyanna stepped towards his now broken body, passed the shocked and frightened onlookers. Shepard in particular was terrified. She had felt that kind of energy, that atmosphere before. When a Shaman used their more extraordinary abilities, but never with such power.

Iyanna approached Isendad's limp form. "It is only because my daughter is still alive that you are." She told him icily. She turned and looked at Celsys, who seemed surprisingly calm, but still tense. "You say you had reasons." Said Iyanna. "What are they?"

Celsys relaxed her posture. "It was all to teach you the value of the mon-keigh in this galaxy."

Iyanna gave a dismissive laugh. "What value do these mon-keigh have." She looked around at the non Eldar. "They are little more than primitive beasts, even more so than the ones from our home galaxy."

G'dore visibly bristled at the insult. But she maintained her calm voice. "If I may interject." She said whilst taking a small step forward.

"It appears they can speak." Sighed Iyanna. "Very well, you may do so."

G'dore gave a small bow, mainly to hide her brief scowl. "I know that we may seem primitive to your eyes Honoured Spiritseer. But you have only encountered the Batarians and the Geth. And some," G'dore glanced at Saren, who was still lying on the floor in agony. "Rogue elements. But I can assure you not everyone in the galaxy is like them." She bowed once again, lower this time. "It is my duty and my pleasure to formally greet you on behalf of the Citadel. I hope that this is the start of a great friendship between our peoples."

"It probably won't be." Said Iyanna simply. And she stepped past the blustering Asari. Towards Shepard. Who took a nervous step back as Iyanna approached her. Ashley took a step forward, putting herself between the two women. "You are different." She told Shepard. "Your soul burns brighter that the rest."

"I'm a Shaman." Said Shepard, as if that explained everything. But Iyanna did seem to understand. She seemed to mull over what Shepard said. "Can I ask?" Asked Shepard. Iyanna nodded. "What happened to Yriel?"

Iyanna sighed deeply. "The Spear of Twilight has stripped his spirit bare. He has been taken to his quarters aboard his flagship, as was his final request."

Shepard swallowed. "So he's dead?"

"He will be soon." Answered Iyanna. She looked closely at Shepard, who looked distinctly crestfallen. "Where I am from. A Human would celebrate the death of an Eldar, not feel the pain of sadness."

Shepard looked taken aback. "That's horrible." She commented earnestly.

It was then that Celsys stepped forward and pointed down the boulevard, towards a blue smudge in the distance. "I think." She said to Iyanna. "You will want to pay attention to that."

The blue smudge came closer and revealed itself to be another Eldar vehicle, an aircar like the one Shepard had been driving around the city. It stopped a few meters away and the door sung open. Out climbed an Eldar in bulky, red and black armour. After him a smaller figure clambered out and Iyanna's hard composure shattered like glass.

"Isana!" She called as she ran, her spear clattered to the floor forgotten. She ran towards her daughter and scooped her up into her arms hugging Isana to her chest tightly. Shepard heard Iyanna's muffled sobs as she buried her head into her child's shoulder. "I thought I'd lost you." She whimpered as she fell to her knees.

Isana pulled away from her mother's embrace and looked up at her smiling. Iyanna smiled back widely. "Mama!" Said Isana excitedly. "You have to meet Tali."

"Who?" Asked Iyanna breathlessly, smiling.

Isana was almost jumping with energy. "She's amazing! When Yriel- I mean Honoured Autarch Yriel left to go see if you were ok, he left me with Tali! And she took me around the _Normandy!_ And let me speak with Joker, and she gave me an apple! And she's got a suite she needs to wear! But she's hurt, she got hurt when the Batarians came! But Anderson and Chakwas say she'll be ok! But you have to meet her!" Iyanna simply nodded along with her daughters babbling speech. She seemed happy just to hear her daughter talk.

"Ok." She said finally. "We'll go and meet Tali." She stood and turned back to the other, whilst holding her daughters had tightly. "You might as well come. I presume this _Normandy_ has some kind of meeting room we could use."

 **o0o**

Tali woke up slowly. Her eyes drifted open and she saw a sideways Isana looking at her with a wide smile. She realised slowly that she was in fact lying in a bed, and Isana was actually the right way up. She looked around the room, and the first thing she noticed was an older Isana looking down at her from behind Isana herself.

Isana looked at the older her and said. "Mama, this is Tali." She turned back to Tali. "Tali this is my mother, Iyanna Arianel." Tali waved at her weakly.

"Tali, you're awake." Butted in Dr Chakwas. She pulled out a light and shone it in her eyes. It was mercifully dull thanks to her mask. "How do you feel?"

"I'm fine." Replied Tali weakly. "I'm just happy Isana is safe." Isana rushed forward and hugged Tali around the neck, gently.

Iyanna turned to Chakwas. "Please leave us." She said politely. Chawas nodded and left the room. Iyanna sat down on a chair next to Tali's bed and pulled Isana into her lap. "Miss Tali." She began.

"It would be Miss Zorah, technically." Tali corrected gently."

Iyanna gave a slight nod. "Miss Zorah, my daughter has told me much of you. And I must thank you for taking such goof care of her."

"It was nothing, really."

Iyanna smiled slightly and ruffled her daughters hair. "She is healthy and happy. I could not ask for more, and I understand you took more than one bullet for her."

Tali blushed. "Well I couldn't let someone, I mean, I'm sure anyone would have done the same."

"But you are the one who did." Said Iyanna firmly. "And I will repay your kindness and sacrifice." Tali was on the verge of saying there was no need when Iyanna continued. "Isana tells me you are on some kind of pilgrimage?"

It took Tali's tired brain a moment to switch gears. "Yes, I am suppose to bring some kind of resource back to the Flotilla. A gift for my new captain." She explained.

"Your people live their lives on ships, travelling from place to place. Never being able to settle?" Tali could only nod as Iyanna's description of Quarian lives. "Struck down by your own hubris?" Again, Tali could only nod. "My people understand your plight all to well. My gift to you, for your new captain, is this. For as long as I draw breath, the craftworld of Iyanden will be a safe harbour for you and all Quarians."

"Thank you." Whispered an awed Tali.

"You should rest." Said Iyanna with a small smile as she stood to leave. "Come Isana." The young girl gave Tali a final hug before following her mother out of the room.

 **0**

Anderson watched the door to the medical bay intently. G'dore, Wrex and Garrus sat on one side of the mess table. Opposite himself, Shepard, Kaiden and Ashley. Celsys was leaning against a nearby wall looking around the room with undisguised interest. They were waiting for Iyanna to join them.

But G'dore was apparently not content with waiting. "So let's get everything straight." She began. "You boarded this ship, with your ship. And you met a man called Autarch Yriel who told you he needed you to help him liberate the ship from the Batrarians and the Geth. But it turns out he didn't need you at all, because a bunch of circus performers." Celsys bowed low at the mention. "And a giant, thing, called the Guardian basically did the job for you."

"Sounds about right." Answered Celsys.

G'dore continued. "At no point did you mention the Citadel or anything about the wider galaxy."

Shepard nodded. "There really wasn't time. We were going to bring it up once we had dealt with the Geth and Batarians. But Yriel had already left us when we found out it was not a problem any more."

"What is the Council's reaction to all this?" Asked Anderson.

G'dore scowled. "The Council didn't know until I told them. Udina didn't mention it when he told them about your fleets destruction."

Shepard did a double take. "What?"

"Udina told the Council about your fleets destruction. But he didn't say anything about a new race. The Council are sending a diplomatic team though."

"Our fleet was destroyed?" Asked Shepard quietly, looking to Anderson.

He sighed heavily. "Yes Shepard. I was going to tell you when we debriefed."

"How many are dead?" Kaiden asked.

"We don't know yet. But Hackett and Shaman Vranovsky both survived." Answered Anderson. "But what's this about Udina not telling the Council."

"I don't know the details but it's a problem. Especially with the Tau." Said G'dore.

Quicker than anyone could even see Celsys was leaning over the table, right in G'dore's face. "What do you mean Tau?" She asked.

G'dore glared at her. "The Tau, they made a public announcement about two hours ago. They're some kind of nomadic race, close to extinction."

Celsys considered this for a moment. "A nomadic race? Come a long way?"

G'dore nodded. "They've already joined the Citadel. Their technology is so advanced it's probably going to revolutionize basically every field."

Celsys snorted out a laugh. "Advanced. That is a joke. But their presence does explain quite a lot." She said.

The door to the medical bay slid open and Isana ran out, followed by a much more dignified Iyanna. She and Celsys shared a quick look. An unspoken conversation seemed to pass between them and Iyanna's previously warm face became cold. Iyanna looked over the group sitting at the table. "It appears the time for answers has come." She sat down in the nearest chair and pulled Isana into her lap. "You can ask me any question you wish, though I may not answer." It took the room a few moments to ponder the technical correctness of her statement.

Shepard shrugged and asked first. "Where are you from?"

"We travelled through the warp!" Said Isana excitedly.

"Isana." Chided Iyanna. "What have I told you about talking out of term." Isana had the good sense to apologise quietly whilst Iyanna continued. "Yes, we did indeed travel through the warp from another universe. Along with two other craftworlds."

The table shared incredulous looks. G'dore spoke next. "Ok. Assuming that is true, where are the other two craftworlds?"

"And what's the warp?" Added Shepard.

Iyanna considered her answer. "We don't know where the other two craftworlds are, the rest of the seer council is attempting to regain contact with them as we speak, but it may take a long time. And, the warp is an alternate dimension of pure energy." She turned to Shepard. "I am surprised you don't know Shaman, it is the same energy that fuels your abilities."

Shepard gave her a sidewards look. "The Aether?" She asked.

"That may be your word for it. But the warp is more complex than you apparently know." Said Iyanna.

Garrus leaned forward, looking closely at Iyanna. "I want to know why it was so easy for the Batarians and Geth to get aboard your ship?"

Iyanna returned Garrus' look and the Turian flinched from her icy look. "We deactivated the point defences in preparation for dimensional transit. Along with everything else, it's also the reason why we put the whole crew into stasis. Travelling through the warp is dangerous, such preparations limited these dangers. But now the point defences are up and running and the crew is being re-awakened. So all that information is useless to you." She added with a small measure of smugness.

G'dore leaned forward. "I must tell you about the Citadel." She said. "If you're to be part of the galactic community, which I assume you are, you have to learn about it."

Iyanna glared at her. "I don't have to do anything. And assumptions are deadly." Iyanna cocked her head, as if listening to something far away. "I must leave you. Captain Anderson, the last of your men have been found and will arrive here in a few moments. I expect you to leave Iyanden as soon as they do."

G'dore gave a polite smile. "Who will be taking me back to my ship?"

Iyanna gave her a confused look. "No one. You will be leaving on the _Normandy_." She explained.

G'dore laughed, trying to do so lightly. "I can't leave my ship here." She said.

Iyanna clearly didn't see the humour. "I have had myriad mon-keigh infesting the craftworld for all to long. I will be busy in a way you cannot fathom until the craftworld is up and running again. You will leave soon, you will not leave this ship. If you do not follow these simple instructions I will have you all killed. My patience has run to it's thinnest point." She stood up and went to leave, taking Isana's hand. Before she left the room she turned back and pointed to Celsys. "And you will take these clowns with you. I've had enough of them sneaking around and messing with my home." And with that Iyanna left. Isana waved happily as she left with her mother.

 **o0o**

Iyanna approached the archway. She took her place at the head of the seer council and immersed her mind into their psychic choir. Re-enforced and empowered her mind was launched across space. Stars and nebulae streamed across her minds eye into the black of space. The huge expanse between the stars consumed her as she approached her target. Looming before her was Ulthwe. The sheer size of it staggered her every time she saw it. It was larger than any construct she had ever seen. Almost nine thousand kilometres long and a full five hundred wide, and it was twice as deep as Iyanden. The only craftworld which could claim to be larger was Biel-Tan, but that was only due to it's truly huge solar sails, rather than being more massive.

Her mind entered the craftworld and she coalesced into a spectral form and she bowed to one she was here to see.

Eldrad Ulthran smiled and motioned for her to stand. "Iyanna Arienal, it is truly a pleasure to see you. And how is Isana?"

Iyanna gave a wan smile. "She is well. I take it you know what has been happening on Iyanden?"

Eldrad sighed. "Yes. I watched events unfold. I must say I thought it was truly despicable to use your daughter in such a manner, I shall be having words with Celsys when I see her next."

Iyanna gave a bow of thanks. "I must speak with you about the contingency."

"And I must speak with you." Said Eldrad. "But we cannot talk without Autarch Mauryon being here." As if on cue a spectral figure appeared before them. He bowed to the two of them.

"Honoured Spiritseer." He greeted Iyanna. "It lifts my heart to see you well."

"Thank you Autarch. It lifts mine to see you as well." She said.

Eldrad smiled happily. "Well now we are all here, we can discuss the contingency."

Mauryon nodded. "As soon as we establish a webway link I can have the Biel-Tan fleets sent through."

"That is what we are here to discuss." Said Eldrad. "I seem to remember agreeing that we would take another vote as to whether we would cleanse the galaxy. One we were actually here and it was inhabited."

Mauryon nodded respectfully. "My vote remains the same. We must ensure the safety of future generations and it is the only sure way."

Eldrad spoke next. "Such an act of mass murder can not end well. With some forethought and consideration we can help these 'Citadel races' achieve great things. I vote against killing them."

They both turned to Iyanna. "Had I not met any of them, I would have voted in favour of murder. But I have met them, they aren't the same callous monsters that inhabited our old home. They are different. I vote against murder."

Eldrad nodded happily. Autarch Mauryon's face was impassive. "Then it is decided. But I will not let the desecration of Iyanden go unpunished. These Batarians and Geth must be taught that to attack a craftworld is to invite death upon themselves."

"That I can accept." Said Iyanna.

"As can I." Sighed Eldrad.

Mauryon nodded. "I shall begin preparations." He said. "But what of the Tau?" He asked.

"I shall try and discern their actions. But I see no reason to antagonise them." Eldrad told him. Mauryon nodded and bowed before his spectral projection melted away. Iyanna bowed to Eldrad and began the mental process of returning to Iyanden.

A few moments later Iyanna opened her physical eyes and looked up at the webway arch before her. Where before it had been an empty archway, now it was filled with a rippling pane of blue energy.

She closed her eyes again and looked into the warp. It's usual madness replaced in her minds eye by a field of bottomless black. And she saw in the distance she saw the two twinkling points of light, and her heart lifted. The spar's of webway they had brought with them had survived their trip. She looked around and saw the great ball of light that represented Iyanden's own internal webway. She began to push it with her mind. She had little to no effect upon the huge construction. But she was soon joined by the rest of the seer council.

Their psychic might joined together and became truly greater than the sum of it's parts. Under their ministrations the ball of light produced a single finger of light that reached out towards the two distant points of light they represented the webways of Ulthwe and Biel-Tan. She knew that they too would be pushing their own webway forward.

Iyanna wasn't sure how long it took them to finally get far enough to meet the other two craftworlds webways. But meet them they did. And with titanic mental effort the three webways were spliced together and formed a single huge corridor between worlds.

The three craftworlds were finally reconnected.


	21. Chapter 21

**A shorter update I'm afraid. You can blame Christmas.**

 **Mass Exodus**

 **Chapter 18**

In the Citadel, Ambassador Udina sat at his desk and stared at his computer screen. On his screen Admiral Hackett looked grave. His aged face looked even older and Udina couldn't find it in himself to blame him given what he had just been told. "How many ships did we lose?" Asked Udina.

Hackett rubbed his face dejectedly. "Almost eighty percent losses. We don't know how many men yet."

Udina swore under his breath. "This is clear proof that the Batarians and the Geth are working together." He said.

Hackett gave Udina a close look. "I don't think that's necessarily true. If it is, this is the first we've heard of it. I think it's premature to assume something so huge without more evidence."

"This attack is all the evidence we need." Growled Udina. "I will soon be demanding the Council, in person, that they do something about the Geth!"

"What about the Alien ship?" Asked Hackett.

Udina snorted. "If they actually do anything to help I will tell them about the ship. If they leave us to deal with the situation on our own, again, then I won't bother. Anyway, we need to prove we can deal with diplomatic solutions like this without running off to the Citadel like children."

Hackett hmm'd quietly. "Your playing a dangerous game Udina. If it gets out that you deliberately withheld information about a potential first contact, especially when it's connected to a major battle, people will be calling for your job. If not your head." He joked.

"I know what I'm doing." Udina told him.

 **o0o**

"What has happened?" Asked Prinol.

Tevos answered. "I can't say much, but Humanity, one of the Citadel races, has engaged in a major battle with the Batarian Hegemony."

"They are a non-member race. If I remember correctly." Said Or'es.

Tevos pinched the bridge of her nose. "Yes. There had always been tension between the Systems Alliance and the Batarian Hegemony. I suppose this conflict was inevitable."

"Will you not be acting as peace keepers?" Asked Tsu'bur.

"If we can." Muttered Tevos gravely. She stood with a polite nod and an apologising look. Sparatus and Valern rose with the same politeness. The three of them left the room, stepping into an antechamber.

"What have those bloody fools done now?!" He asked angrily, as soon as the door closed behind them.

Tevos sighed. "You can ask Udina yourself. He's demanding that we speak to him now." Sparatus sighed and nodded his consent, as did a much calmer Valern. Tevos stepped over to a large screen attached to the wall and pushed a few buttons on the holographic screen.

The scowling face of Udina appeared on the screen. "Councillors." He ground out. "I assume you know about the Systems Alliance recent engagement with the Geth. And the Batarians."

"We do." Said Tevos. "We offer our condolences."

Udina nodded. "They are much appreciated. But I want to know what you intend to do about it? This clearly means that the Geth and the Batarians are working together. What are you going to do?"

"We will investigate." Said Sparatus. "Now if you please ambassador, we are very busy."

Udina vixibly struggled to contain his anger. "By investigate. You mean comb over all the data we will give you. And do nothing actually useful." He spat.

"If that is what we choose to do." Growled Sparatus. "Then it will be the best choice. Now, we are very busy. Good day."

Tevos gave a polite nod and shut off the screen. She turned to Sparatus. "That could have been handled better." She told him.

"I am getting sick and tired of the Systems Alliance. They think just because they are the up and coming race they can demand anything they want of us without giving anything in return. They demand we investigate their mess without offering to help us do so. Our fleets are already stretched thin looking for a rogue Spectre, and he demands we drop everything to investigate yet another one of their battles with the Batarians without offering to take up our shortfall. When they go to war, and at this rate it is _when_ , they'll demand we fight it for them!" Ranted Sparatus.

Valern frowned. "Even so. He thinks the Batarians and the Geth are working together. It could be paranoia on his part. But the Humans have a rather apt saying. There's no smoke without fire. I think we should send a patrol to investigate."

"I agree." Said Tevos.

Sparatus gave a frustrated grunt. "Very well. I'll organise it." He motioned to the other room. "Shall we get back to the important business."

"Yes we should." Said Tevos, stepping towards the door.

Prinol leaned in to Tsu'bur. "What are you writing?" He asked. Pointing to the data pad he was furiously tapping away at.

Tsu'bur replied tersely. "A preliminary announcement. I'm trying to gloss over the more unbelievable aspects of how we got here."

"You seem tense." Commented Prinol.

"A seat on their council?" Asked a disbelieving Tsu'bur. "With all due respect, you are asking for far to much to soon Ethereal. Offering half our fleet when they know full well that's one ship is ludicrous. We don't really know how our military stacks up against theirs. They're probably in that other room laughing at us."

At that moment the door opened and the three councillors stepped back into the room. They gave apologetic looks as the took their seats.

"Well." Began Tevos. "Upon consideration I think that we will be denying your application to be a member of the Citadel Council. But as we said, we will be allowing you to join as a Citadel member race."

Before Prinol could speak Tsu'bur leaned forward and said. "We would be proud to join. And upon our own consideration we think that asking to be a Council member was far to much too soon." He passed them the data pad he had been typing on. "And I have drafted a statement for your information team."

Tevos took the pad and quickly read it before passing it to Valern, who passed it to Sparatus. "I think it should be satisfactory." She said.

 **0**

"Emily Wong." Greeted Khalisah Al-Jilani. "How did you get into this?" She asked, referring to the hastily called press conference. She looked around at the gathering of reporters from all over the galaxy. Every major network was represented.

Emily smiled at Kalisah. "I could ask you the same question. I didn't think that the gutter press were allowed." Kalisah flared red with anger. But before she could respond the events compare gave the signal for everyone to take their seats.

The two Human reporters grudgingly sat next to each other and turned their gaze to the stage. Out filed the three Citadel Councillors, and everyone knew this was big. The three councillors almost never gathered together for the press. And when the three aliens walked out behind them it was clear why. A major first contact had taken place.

A few inexperienced reporters thrust their hands (and tentacles) up. Tevos motioned for them to lower their respective appendages. "There will be an opportunity to ask questions later. For now our guests have a prepared statement." She sat down and nodded to the central alien. If his finer robes was anything to go by he was clearly some kind of leader.

He stood with regal grace and began to speak clearly and loudly, it was obvious he was used to speaking in public. "Greeting Citadel races. I am Ethereal Aun'Vre T'olku Prinol. This is Por'Vre Ke'lshan Tsu'bur and Shas'O Or'es. We are three of the leaders of the Tau race. The other two, Fio'O Fi'rios Firir and Kor'O T'olku Fralom are indisposed but they have asked me to send warm greetings on their behalf. We Tau come with peace and friendship for all and we hope to become faithful allies of the whole galactic community."

Tevos began clapping which was soon taken up by the whole room. "We now open the floor for questions, but I will remind you that many of them will be answered by the data packet that will be made available over the extranet." She motioned to one of the raised appendages

"This one would like to know how advanced you are technologically?" Asked Hanar.

Prinol smiled warmly. "We would like to think that we are almost as advanced as any Citadel race."

"So you are a space-faring race?" Continued the Hanar.

"Yes we are." Said Prinol.

Emily recorded this on her omni-tool. She noticed she had an email. As she opened it she heard Kalisah ask a question.

"How did the Citadel discover a space-faring race without opening more relays?" She asked.

It was Tevos who answered, curtly. "We did not need to open any more relays." She paused.

Emily's eyes widened as she read the email.

Prinol continued to answer Kalisah's question. "We, that is to say my fleet, were experimenting with a new form of faster than light travel. An accident occurred and now we find ourselves far from home. It is our hope that we will reconnect to them one day."

Emily looked up at the panel and focused on the Citadel councillors. She genuinely didn't know if she should ask her question.

Tevos motioned to an Elcor. "Questioning. Have you joined the Citadel. And if so. How do you intend to contribute to the galactic economy."

Tsu'bur answered. "We will be setting up meetings with many companies and corporations so that we can license them to manufacture examples of our material sciences. As well as portable generator technologies."

Emily stood up and raised her hand. Tevos pointed to her. She cleared her throat and asked. "Does the council have a comment about the major engagement that the Systems Alliance has just had with the Batarian Hegemony? And is it true you are unaware that this engagement took place in the same system as an ongoing first contact between the 'Eldar' and the Systems Alliance."

"Eldar!" Exclaimed Prinol.

"This press conference is over!" Bellowed Sparatus as he stood and began ushering the five other people off the stage.

 **0**

As soon as they were away, and out of sight and sound of the press Sparatus bellowed. "I'm going to kill that man!"

"If you'll excuse us." Smiled Tevos to the Tau and she pushed Sparatus into an adjoining room. After the door had closed she turned to Valern who had followed them. "What exactly is going on here?" She asked.

"It appears someone has leaked a number of Systems Alliance internal documents. All relating to the incident miss Wong asked you about. It does appear that Ambassador Udina was aware. Even before he contacted us that the Systems Alliance ship _Normandy_ was engaged in first contact proceedings with the 'Eldar'. And that they were taking place in the same system as the naval engagement." Answered Valern.

"How could this possibly get worse." Muttered Sparatus.

"Apparently." Continued Valern. "The Eldar are contained within a single large ship. That has been boarded by both Batarians and Geth."

Sparatus activated his own omni-tool. "I'm sending a diplomatic team, and a whole fleet. This situation is getting ridiculous."

Tevos activated her own omni-tol and began flicking through the extranet. "The Systems Alliance have already issued a statement. Something to effect of; we were going to use the first contact as an opportunity to prove they were ready to take a greater role in galactic affairs. And now everyone knows about the Geth and the Batarians they're saying they refused to reveal they had men on the ground, so to speak, because it could have compromised an existing operation."

"I suppose that is fair." Reasoned Valern.

"It is not 'fair'." Growled Sparatus. "Telling us three is not 'compromising an exiting operation'. And first contacts are not the time to be scoring political points."

Tevos continued to look through the extranet. "It appears certain extranet commentators are already calling for Udina to quit."

"That was quick. Even for them." Muttered Valern suspiciously.

At that moment Tevo's omni-tool gave a very specific beep, indicating an incoming communication from a Spectre. She answered it with a small sigh. "G'dore. It is good to hear from you, how goes the hunt for Saren."

Sparatus and Valern listened in closely to G'dore as she replied. "I have tracked Saren to the Feros system. But there is a problem." The three councillors shared a glance. "I think he has boarded a large ship that belongs to a new species."

Tevos sighed heavily. "Spectre G'dore, you have temporary new orders. Let me give you a quick briefing first."

 **0**

The three councillors stepped back into the meeting room looking much wearier than when they had left. Although this was only supposition on Tsu'bur's part as he had no experience judging the faces of these aliens. When they sat down opposite the three Tau and set their faces he knew what they were going to ask about.

"You want to know, why we know the name Eldar." He told them. Tevos nodded. "The Tau have had limited contact with the Eldar from our own galaxy."

"You have Eldar in your own galaxy?" Asked Tevos.

"Yes. They travel around the galaxy in huge ships they call craftworlds. I have been on one myself and they are truly beautiful places. Quite extraordinary constructions." Said Tsu'bur.

"What are the Eldar like?"

Tsu'bur snorted. "Toweringly arrogant. I was a very junior adjunct, and part of a diplomatic mission to a craftworld. And the whole time was spent with us making overtures to them, offering increasingly large concessions to them should they join. They spent the whole time declining us out of hand, asking us if we were leaving yet, asking us why we were still there."

Sparatus gave the Tau a quizzical look. "I would question why they didn't just ask you to leave."

"We wondered that as well." Sighed Tsu'bur. "But the Eldar are famously mercurial. We had been told previously by many other races that they often acted without a clear motive. We quickly realised this was one of those cases, and we wondered if leaving would be playing into their hand in some way."

"Were they ever violent." Asked Sparatus.

Tsu'bur looked to Or'es, who shook her head."To my knowledge we have never had a military engagement with the Eldar. But we have had contact with certain Human military elements who have."

"And they say?"

Or'es rubbed her chin. "Mercurial doesn't even come close. I have read Human internal reports of Eldar helping a Human army to stop a major pirate raid, and then immediately turn upon them for no apparent reason."

Sparatus frowned. "Is that a common occurrence?"

"From what I've read, it is." Or'es told him. " Attacking and defending random planets and areas without giving a reason. Various Humans who have elected to join the greater good say that the Eldar specialise in hit and run tactics in both naval and ground warfare. They also claimed that Eldar technology was highly advanced. But with a few exceptions the Humans don't seem to have more advanced technology than ourselves so we have little reason to assume they are radically more advanced than us."

"You should ask Fio'O Firir." Said Prinol. "He's a specialist in alien technology. He might know more about Eldar technology."

Tevos considered this closely, trying to filter it through her propaganda filter. And given she was hearing internal military reports, filtered through the brain of another military commander. She wasn't sure what to believe. "What can our diplomatic team expect?" She asked.

"We can't be sure." Tsu'bur told her. "We can't even be sure that these Eldar are anything like those from our home galaxy. For all we know they could be completely different."


	22. Chapter 22

**Mass Exodus**

 **Chapter 19**

 _'Oh god, we're going to be like sardines in here.'_ Thought Shepard as she watched the _Normandy_ quickly fill up with people. Apparently Iyanna wasn't joking when she said to take all (as Shepard now new they were called) Harlequins, and so the ship now had forty more people to carry around, and all their gear. Although that didn't take up so much space all told. They were more than happy to pile it all in the mako. But Celsys had extracted a promise that no one would go near it without permission. The five huge 'grav bikes' had been tricky to store. But after finding some steel chain in the bilge they were now hanging from the ceiling, making everyone very nervous.

The only place on the ship that wasn't packed to the gunnels with people and equipment was the med bay and it's lab. Dr Chakwas had insisted on that. The med bay held a still recovering Tali and a very bruised and battered Isendad. The lab had been completely cleared of equipment and now held a handcuffed Saren. Who Shepard was going to try and see. She just needed to distract G'dore.

"Ashley." She said to her squadmate, who looked up and nodded. "I need you to distract G'dore Pedant."

"How?" Asked the marine warily. "Why?"

"No real reason. But if you could talk to her about, I don't know... You'll think of something." Shepard told her before leaving the slightly dumbfounded woman to sputter behind her back.

Shepard stepped up to the med bay door and passed the two men guarding the door into the brightly lit room. As she did so she felt the ship rock slightly as it took off. _'Next stop, Citadel.'_ She thought to herself. Looking around the med bay she saw that the only two patients were both asleep and Chakwas was nowhere to be seen, luckily. Crossing the room in a few long steps she didn't hesitate as she opened the door and entered the makeshift prison

Saren looked up at her. His dislocated arm had been relocated, his chest was covered in medi-gel and bandaged. Overall the former Spectre looked to be in very bad shape. Shepard couldn't help but wince when she saw the bruising all over left side.

"It's not as bad as it looks." He told her quietly. "I would stand for the Shaman, but." He gestured to his bound legs with his equally bound arms. For a moment Shepard just stared at him. "I had no idea they would send you after me." Continued Saren. "I would have sent a Spectre." Shepard glanced away momentarily. "You're not the one they sent after me are you?"

"No." Shepard grudgingly admitted. "They sent G'dore Pedant."

Saren smiled. "A good choice. Very experienced woman. So I wonder why I'm on a Systems Alliance ship?"

Shepard snorted. "The Eldar wouldn't let her go back to her ship. We're transporting you as a favour."

"Well if the other Eldar are anything like Celsys." Muttered Saren.

"What exactly happened to your base then?" Asked Shepard.

Saren was silent for a few moments. "A large mech of some kind destroyed it, the thing even drove off Sovereign. Although I had already left by then."

Something flashed in Shepard's brain. A distant roar of voices bellowed from her subconscious. "Sovereign is a Reaper." She said.

"Yes." Said Saren.

Another roar. "The Reapers destroyed the Protheans." She whispered.

Saren only nodded. "I remember when I found that out. I was horrified, I tried so hard to think of a way to prevent such a thing from happening to us. And then I found that damned ship." Saren rubbed his head, sighing as he did so. "I was convinced that if I showed the worth of organics to Shepard, he might spare us."

"Why is he doing this?" Asked Shepard.

Saren shook his head. "Sovereign didn't tell me. But they've done it before, hundreds of times." Shepards eyes widened. "He would sometimes mention something called 'The War in the Dark'. I don't know what that is though. But he would talk about preventing some great catastrophe."

"What kind of catastrophe could be prevented by murdering so many people." She thought aloud.

The door behind her shot open and G'dore stormed in. "You've got some nerve Shepard! Trying to interrogate my prisoner!"

"Your prisoner?" Asked a shocked Celsys.

Shepard and G'dore jumped out of their skins and they both turned to see the Eldar woman leaning against the labs table. She had apparently elected to remove her mask revealing a face that was distractingly attractive to G'dore. But to Shepard just looked weird, her features were to perfect, to symmetrical. And thinking back that same had been true of Yriel and Iyanna, but she just hadn't noticed the effect till now.

"By what measure is he your prisoner?" Asked G'dore.

Celsys giggled. "Well, I found him, first I might add, removed him from his compatriots. Then I disarmed him, and dragged him halfway across the craftworld. And, I put up with his constant complaints." She explained, ticking her fingers of as she spoke.

"I did not complain." Muttered Saren.

"Ok." Hissed G'dore. "He _is_ your prisoner. Now, as a Spectre of the Citadel I demand you hand over your prisoner to me."

Celsys stood to her full (and very impressive) height. "And as a shadowseer of the Masque of the Sundered Veil. I demand that you-" Celsys gestured with both hands to her crotch. "-Suck it, bitch."

G'dore exploded. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU! YOU SKINNY WITCH!" She bellowed. The room filled with biotic energy, the walls began to shake with G'dore rage.

"RIGHT!" Chakwas bellowed, her voice easily carrying above the din. "ALL OF YOU CAN TAKE YOUR ARGUMENT ELSEWHERE! WHERE YOU'RE NOT DISTURBING MY PATIENTS!" The look on Chakwas face was fierce, Shepard had never seen anything quite like it. And apparently neither had G'dore as she was instantly cowed. She bowed low and said. "I apologise doctor. It was unbecoming of my station to lose my temper like that." And she left instantly, quietly. Shepard followed silently, just giving Chakwas an a apologising look. The doctor glared at Celsys, who just grinned back.

"You're not even in the room, are you." Said Saren. And by way of an answer she melted into a gossamer mist that vanished in moments.

 **0**

Shepard and G'dore stepped out of the med bay into the mess and saw Celsys leaning back in a chair, her feet propped up on the table. She was peeling an orange, and grinning at them.

"You were never even in the room were you." Sighed G'dore.

"No she wasn't." Giggled Shepard. G'dore gave her a questioning look. "I could just tell." Explained Shepard. "She didn't 'feel' alive somehow."

G'dore shook her head and sat down opposite Celsys. "Miss Celsys." She began. "I apologise for losing my temper. The last few days if my life have been very stressful."

Calsys nodded as she stuck a piece of fruit into her mouth. "It's healthy to release your anger every now and then." She mumbled around her mouthful.

G'dore nodded knowingly. "Well now I have released my pent up stress I can see you have only the interests of the Citadel at heart." Celsys released a huge laugh, almost rolling of her chair as she clutched at her sides. "I am confused." Said G'dore. "I see now that you were trying to calm me down. But did you not take Saren prisoner so he could answer for his crimes?"

"Nope." Said Celsys with a grin. "He has helped Shepard realise the danger the Reapers pose, now he's basically useless to us. Well to you, I'm sure I could find a use for him." She said lecherously.

"Gross." Muttered Shepard. "But yes, now I know what the vision from the beacon meant. The Reapers are going to kill every living thing in the galaxy."

G'dore gave Shepard an almost pained look. "Shepard, don't take this the wrong way, but. That sounds utterly insane." She looked between Celsys and Shepard. "Now I don't know, or care what kind of lies he has told you two. But he has no excuses for his actions and will answer for his crimes at the Citadel." She told them.

Celsys tapped her chin with a long finger. "How's that? I don't intend to hand him over to C-sec."

"He is not your prisoner." Growled G'dore.

"He is to my prisoner." Grinned Celsys. "I saw him first, get your own war criminal." She told a deeply scowling G'dore. The Asari Spectre took a deep breath before stomping off muttering under her breath.

Shepard gave Celsys a sidewards glance. Celsys responded with a large grin. "You know I don't have the authority to stop her just taking him when we dock at the Citadel."

"Leave that to me." Giggled Celsys. "It would be useful for us to keep him around when we go after Benezia and the Conduit."

Shepard blinked at the Eldar. "We're going after Benezia? And what actually is the Conduit?"

"Ask Saren what the Conduit is." Said Celsys. "And as for Benezia, we could go after her. It all depends on you." Celsys dropped her grin and gave Shepard a flat, penetrating stare. "Also, a quick piece of advice. Don't talk to it."

"Talk to what?" Asked Shepard, very confused. Celsys didn't answer, she simply stood up and walked into the med bay. Presumably to see Isendad.

Shepard followed her with a confused gaze. Not even close to understanding her meaning. Shepard shrugged and got up to get some food from the mess.

 **0**

Harry watched the 'thing'. It was sitting alone, not even with the rest of the Harlequins. It was eating from a steaming bowl of soup, gently lifting the spoon to it's face. Harry supposed it had lifted it's horned mask to gain access to it's mouth, but no one was brave enough to check. Harry could feel the unnaturalness of it's presence even from here. Although none of the other marines seemed to have noticed, or at least had not mentioned it.

Even the rest of the Harlequins that filled the vehicle bay seemed afraid, only glancing over their shoulders at it. But they had a definite respect for it, having prepared a bowl of their soup and left it at a prepared place. But the thing had just taken the bowl and sat apart from it's apparent comrades. And none of the Harlequins had closed up the space.

Harry and two other marines were leaning against the machinists workbench. Making idle conversation about their guests. "I reckon they're a bloke." Whispered Dan.

Harry gave him a withering look. "Why?" He asked pointedly.

Dan shrugged, rolling his eyes. "Coz' they're taller than anyone else here. And most blokes are taller."

Another marines laughed. "You are a complete idiot Dan!"

"Why?" He asked, indignant.

The other marine, named Ben, shook his head. "They're aliens. So that isn't necessarily true." He pointed out. "Besides, the next three taller people are all women." He pointed to a collection of three Harlequin women, all wearing black domino masks, sitting around a heat lamp. They were all eating soup, and looking over at the three men wearing large grins. The men smiled back wanly. The women had nice figures. But their faces were just, off. And not even the masks concealed the uncanniness of their features.

"It's clearly a bloke." Said Dan. The other men groaned. "He don't even have tits." He told them, as if imparting a piece of great wisdom.

Ben laughed quietly to himself. "And how do you know that? Their coats so big you can't tell if they do."

Dan huffed. His temper was clearly wearing thin. "I'm gonna invite him over." He said, standing up.

"I wouldn't." Said Harry. "They clearly want to be alone."

"It's just so I can hear their voice." Shrugged Dan. And he walked over to the lone figure. But he was intercepted halfway their, when a Harlequin stepped out of the shadows and grabbed Dan's arm. Harry recognised the long black coat and skull mask. Celsys had called him a death jester. There was five of them and they'd stored some of the longest rifles Harry had even seen in the Mako.

The jester looked over Dan and said in a low tittering voice. "I wouldn't. You will damn yourself."

Dan Shrugged off the hand and continued towards his goal. He stood in front of the lonely man or woman and knelt down to talk to them. Harry couldn't quite hear what he was saying, and the thing did seem to raise it's head. Dan's face turned pale. He stumbled to his feet and looked over to the death jester. The tall Harlequin walked over to Dan and whispered something close in his ear.

Harry watched in horror as Dan pulled out his pistol and flicked off the safety. "Marine! Holster your weapon!" He bellowed across the room. The Harlequins seemed unaffected by the events transpiring before them. Dan looked over to Harry and mouthed an apology. "Dan!" Shouted Harry. "Holster your weapon." He demanded and he tried to step over to Dan. But the Harlequins didn't move out from under his feet, and Harry was slowed.

He wasn't fast enough to stop Dan lifting the gun to his chin. And pulled the trigger.

 **0**

"THOSE BASTARDS DID SOMETHING TO HIM!" Screamed Harry. Shepard winced as she looked down at Dan's body, covered in a white sheet. "THE LAST PERSON TO TALK TO HIM WAS ONE OF THOSE CLOWN!"

Shepard had to agree it appeared that way. Dan was happy enough last time Shepard had seen him. "I don't see how you can convince someone to kill themselves with one sentence. Especially if you've never met before."

"The Asari can get into peoples minds. Why not these guys." Muttered Ashley darkly.

Shepard sighed, exhausted. "I don't think that's how it works. But I am going to talk to this person." She told them.

Shepard felt increasingly uneasy as she stepped into the hold and looked around at the Harlequins. They were lounging around, talking quietly to each other in small groups. But one by one they all stopped their chatter and turned to look at Shepard. One of them (Shepard seemed to remember he was called Fueban) pointed to the Mako. Shepard picked her way around the Harlequins as she made her way towards the Mako.

The back door of the tank was open, the inside completely black. As Shepard got closer the earlier unease became a palpable aura of dread. Every step towards the Mako became harder and harder, and Shepard became even more aware of the stares she was receiving from the alien men and women around her.

She came to the Mako and looked into the black, her eyes slowly adjusted to the gloom and she saw it, and it was an 'it'. Shepard could feel the unnaturalness of it leaking across the gap between them. The feeling of dread had become a gut wrenching sickness that consumed her. The Solitaire sat on one of the side benches, it's head in it's hands. A white, horned mask lay beside it. The empty, black eyes seemed to piece Shepard's soul.

Shepard almost opened her mouth to speak to it when she heard Celsys advice cut across her mind. _'Don't talk to it.'_ Shepard stepped back, and fainted.

 **0**

Shepard's eyes creaked open. And she was greeted by a smiling Ashley and Dr Chakwas. "You know commander." Smirked Chakwas. "One of these days you're not going to come in here because you passed out."

"I passed out again?" Asked Shepard, slightly annoyed with herself. "God damn it." She muttered.

Chakwas nodded. "From exhaustion. You had been awake for quite a while."

Shepard accepted a glass of water from Ashley and looked around the infirmary. "Where's Tali and Isendad?" She asked. Noticing their empty beds.

Chakwas explained with a smile. "Tali is stretching her legs. Her wounds weren't serious she had just lost some fluids. A regimen of strong antibiotics should keep her healthy. And Isendad just seemed to heal in record time, but then again he hadn't broken anything."

"I need to talk to Anderson." Said Shepard, getting out of bed somewhat groggily.

Ashley grabbed her arm and helped her stand. "If it's about Dan he's already dealt with it." She told her.

"What did he do?"

Ashley shrugged. "Told them all to get off his ship. There's nothing he can do. We could say that someone talked Dan into committing suicide, but what evidence would we get. He tried to talk to them all, but they closed ranks. He couldn't even get near the guy Dan tried to talk to."

"Where did he dump them off?" Shepard Asked.

"Here." Said Ashley. "You were asleep for a while, we're at the Citadel."


	23. Chapter 23

**Mass Exodus**

 **Chapter 20**

"You just dumped all fifty of them off." Said Shepard disbelieving. Anderson nodded, not looking away from his screen. "And you just let G'dore take Saren as well."

Anderson sighed. "I had no right to refuse. He was her prisoner, and she is a Spectre."

"Wasn't he Celsys' prisoner." She said with a badly concealed smirk.

Anderson gave her a deadpan look. "There was another argument about that after you collapsed. G'dore finally relented and admitted that Saren was her prisoner. She then politely requested that she had him over officially, to which Celsys produced a paper document that G'dore sighed. And then Saren became her prisoner."

Shepard narrowed her eyes suspiciously. ' _There is more going on there'_ She thought to herself. "We need Saren. I need to present him to the Council of Nikaea." She told him.

Anderson gave another annoyed sigh. "Shepard, I have heard what Saren told you. But he is mad, he'd say anything to escape justice."

"But it fits with my vision!" Shepard insisted.

Anderson silenced her with a wave of his hand. "Shepard. You're not the first Shaman I've spent a prolonged period of time with. I know how highly strung they can be, are you sure that you're right? I want to believe you Shepard, but you have to understand how crazy what you're saying is."

Shepard nodded, defeated by Anderson's hard logic. "Ok." She said. "I'll get the evidence."

Anderson nodded, almost rolling his eyes as Shepards typical stubbornness. "To be honest Shepard, I'm more concerned with our communication problem."

"What communication problem?" She asked.

"Apparently the Citadel didn't receive a single message about the Harlequins. Even when I mentioned them in other messages they got scrambled and..." Anderson trailed off and a look of annoyed revelation spread over his features. "They did this didn't they." He said. Shepard only just managed to contain her laughter.

 **o0o**

"This can't be real." Muttered the Turian C-sec customs agent, looking down at the paper in his hands. He looked up at the tall man standing before him, dressed in black, white. And a huge grin. "I can't search you, or any of your party?" He asked.

"I am afraid so." He told him. A giggle floated just below his speech.

He read closer and began typing something into his computer. His fellow officers were looking over the huge party as they stood in vague groups, the only sound they made was soft conversation. At the centre floated three large, bike like things, covered in packages and tied up bundles.

Another, Human, customs agent sidled up to the flustered Turian. "Uhh, sarge." He whispered quietly. "What race are they?"

The Turian looked up at the man he was talking to. He looked between the Human officer and him, comparing them in his head. And it was only now he began to notice the subtle differences between them. "What race are you?" He asked, as politely as he could. The man tapped the paper in the officers hand with a long finger. The officer looked down at the line of was pointing to and swore under his breath. "I'm not allowed to as that question." He informed his subordinate.

The other officer grabbed the paper and read it quickly. He quickly reached the signature. "Who the hell of G'dore Pedant?" The first officer moved the screen of his computer round. On the screen, the words 'Spectre: Classified' were on there in large red letters.

"Let them through." Said the Turian officer grudgingly. The black and white dressed group bowed as one and began walking through the door to the wards.

 **o0o**

Shepard could see that Sparatus' glare was suppose to make her squirm. And previously it would have done, but Shepard had since been under the impressive glower of Prince Yriel. And somehow Sparatus' stare had become much less intimidating. "This whole situation has gone from bad to worse." Said the Turian. "We are still trying to resolve this situation involving your ruined first contact. But you brought a group of forty six of these 'Eldar', _who you failed to mention_ , to the Citadel. And then you lost them! How do you LOSE FORTY SIX PEOPLE!?" The glares of Tevos and Valern across the round table seemed to ask the same question. As did the angry stare of Udina. Only Anderson seemed to be on her side.

"Ask her?" Said Shepard, pointing to G'dore. Who gave Shepard a flabbergasted look.

"It is nothing to do with me." She told the three councillers.

Tevos and Valern shared a glance. "It was your signature on their papers." Tevos informed her.

Shepard stifled a laugh and earned a glare from both Anderson and Udina.

G'dore was momentarily confused. "Those weren't prisoner transfer papers were they." She shot a giggling Shepard a quick glower. "I'm going to kill that woman." She told herself.

"But we have more important things to discuss." Said Tevos. "Firstly, we have Saren in custody, but he is claiming a race of sentient starships called Reapers is going to wipe out all life in the galaxy. And he was trying to prevent such an occurrence."

"I believe him." Said Shepard earnestly. And everyone looked at her as if she had grown a third head.

"Right." Muttered Tevos. "What we wanted to ask you commander, is did you get the impression he had a method of escape planned?"

It was Shepards turn to give the odd looks. "He came willingly." She said.

Sparatus clicked his tongue in disapproval. "If G'dore statement is to be believed, when he was captured he had a dislocated arm and wrist as well as second degree burns over most of his chest."

"But he came with me willingly." Laughed a now very familiar voice. The entire room turned to the bench seat in the corner of the room. Lying, draped across it, was Celsys. Her hood down, displaying her great beauty.

Shepard, who had almost jumped from her seat in surprise, shouted at the laughing Eldar. "God damn it Celsys! Stop doing that!"

"But it's so fun!" She tittered back.

"Security!" Called Sparatus. To which Celsys laughed even harder.

"Don't bother." Sighed G'dore. "She's not even here, probably."

Celsys sprang from the seat and clapped her hands on G'dore's shoulders. "Wrong again thunder thighs!" She laughed.

"Thunder thighs!?" Cried G'dore, indignant.

Celsys was laughing so hard she was almost rolling on the floor. "You are so easy." She said, breathless.

"Security!" Bellowed Sparatus.

"They can't hear you." Shepard told him. "She's done something to the sound in this room."

Celsys stopped laughing immediately and stepped over to Shepard. "Now how can you tell that?" She asked quietly.

"The walls seem, different somehow." She told her, slightly sheepish. "It's just a feeling."

Celsys regarded her carefully. "That is the second time you have seen through one of my glamours." She whispered, almost to herself. "You have vast reaches of untapped potential Shepard."

"Ahem." Huffed Tevos. "That is all well and good. But I imagine you broke into one of the most secure places in the galaxy for a reason?"

Celsys sat down in Shepard's lap (much to Shepard's annoyance) and looked across the table at the councillors. "I've come to talk to you about Saren. I worked very hard to get him away from Sovereign."

"This 'sentient starship'?" Sneered Sparatus.

"Yes quite right. I worked very hard to break it's hold over Saren and I don't want my good work to go to waste. Which it will if he doesn't go with Shepard and G'dore and the rest to Virmire."

"How did you know we would be sending Shepard with G'dore." Asked Valern. "And. How did you know we would be sending them to Virmire."

"I know about Virmire because Saren told me." Said Celsys, examining her nails. Apparently through her gloves. "And as for sending Shepard, that was a guess. Thank you for confirming my suspicions." She looked at the three councillors carefully, taking her time with each of them. And the silence became uncomfortable.

Tevos began carefully. "I'm not sure that sending Saren would achieve much, if anything. Surely without him, his terrorist group will collapse."

"Not if Matriarch Benezia takes over. Which she has." Celsys told her.

"I still fail to see how taking a -"

Celsys cut Tevos off with a wave of her hand. "And I fail to see how having him along for the ride can hurt. He is genuinely trying to make amends for his actions and he can be a great help with finding and navigating the extensive base he constructed there."

"Fine." Said Sparatus. "But under no circumstances is he to be armed."

Shepard and G'dore nodded. "So." Said Shepard. "I'm going after Benezia?"

Sparatus huffed. "Seeing as you will probably go after her anyway. We might as well use you in a controlled manner." Shepard nodded happily. Not having the heart to tell him it really was just an accident that she encountered Saren.

"With that sorted." Said Tevos. "We can discuss the Eldar as you called them. Now I understand that Celsys here is an Eldar?"

"I ain't sayin' nothin'." Said Celsys, leaning forward.

"Very well." Said Tevos. "Could you at least tell us if our diplomatic team is lightly to get a friendly reception?" Celsys began laughing to hard she fell of Shepard's lap.

"A simple 'no' would have sufficed." Growled Sparatus. "Can you at least advice us, give us a useful course of action."

Celsys picked herself up off the floor, wiping tears from her eyes. "Don't bother trying, you've got better things to do."

Tevos sighed. "We have to open a diplomatic channel. From all reports they are tremendously advanced."

"Oh yes." Said Celsys wistfully. "The craftworlds have technology that would appear as magic to your eyes. But, they don't even care you exist. And they will most certainly refuse to share their technology with you."

"But they have so much to gain from a galactic partnership." Implored Tevos.

Celsys grinned."First." She said. Counting her points off on her fingers. "I am persona non grata on Iyanden so giving me the speech is not going to help. Second, even if I was allowed on Iyanden I'm not a member of their council and as such cannot effect their decisions. Third, they have nothing to gain from a partnership with you."

Tevos gave an annoyed 'tsk'. "Is there anyway we could at least talk to them, I am sure that if we opened a dialo-"

Celsys cut her off with a snorting laugh. "You might be able to get the council of Ulthwe to listen to you. But Iyanden is almost certainly a lost cause, Biel-Tan most assuredly so. If you only take one piece of advice from me today it is this. Do not ever approach an Eldar of Biel-Tan, it will be the last mistake you ever make."

"I am confused." Said Udina. "I thought there was one ship. A generation ship I believe Shepard called it."

"Yriel described the craftworld as a generation ship." Confirmed Shepard.

Celsys leaped onto the table and lay down across it. Still facing towards the three councillors, her hand propping up her head. "You should probably call in your Tau friends." She told them with a cheshire grin.

"Tau?" Said a somewhat flustered Tevos. "I don't know why we would call in the Tau delegates?"

Celsys stretched languidly and gave a theatrical yawn. "I know you were planning to ask them about the Eldar more after this meeting. I also know they are from another dimension." The revelation blanketed the room in silence. Shepard, G'dore, Anderson and Udian shared amazed and disbelieving glances. The three councillors glowered at Celsys. "I get the distinct impression I am not supposed to know that. Worry not my fair weather friends I shall not breath a word of that fact to anyone outside of this room. But if you wish to hear about the three craftworlds and clear up much of this mess, I suggest you call in your new blue friends."

Tevos nodded and tapped a message into her omni-tool. From a back door three blue (not Asari) aliens filed in. Celsys jumped up and greeted them warmly, shaking their hands. "Tsu'bur, Prinol and Or'es! You are just in time to hear the beginning of this wonderful tale."

"Wonderful tale?" Asked the one Celsys had greeted as Prinol. "I must confess I have no idea what is going on."

"That is because you are not in full possession of the facts. Only me and my fellow harlequins are in full possession on the facts, as is often the case." Celsys told them, motioning to the bench in the corner of the room. The three Tau sat down in it, all visibly confused. Celsys stepped onto the table and began to speak in a, clearly practised, story telling voice. "The three craftworlds. Ulthwe, Biel-Tan and Iyanden. All previously inhabited the same dimension. A horrible galaxy riddled with conflict, hate and general death. It was decided that the craftworld Eldar had no true future there, and so they took their future in their hands and decided to take their future to a safer place."

"Another dimension." Supplied Shepard in absolute wonder.

Celsys tapped her nose in Shepards direction. "Absolutely. But it was not an easy task. Three craftworlds were chosen for the dangerous journey, each selected for their allegorical strength, which is all that truly matters in the warp. Iyanden represented the future in the old galaxy and the past in this one. Biel-Tan represented the past in the old galaxy and the future in the new one. And Ulthwe represented the present, and the present. Ulthwe also represents the mind of the Eldar people, Biel-Tan the body and Iyanden the soul." Celsys looked around at the barely comprehending faces.

"You're not telling us something." Shepard said quietly.

Celsys fell into a cross legged position opposite Shepard. "You are remarkably perceptive my dear. I am not telling you why my masque, my group of harlequins, stowed away on Iyanden. And also what Iyanden was carrying."

Shepard narrowed her eyes. "Yriel mentioned children." She said.

Celsys cocked her head. "Iyanden was chosen because it had the most space. Iyanden doesn't just carry Iyanden's children, or just the children of Ulthwe and Biel-Tan. It carries _every_ Eldar child. When this plan was put in place it was decided that more than three craftworlds travelling in such a manner would attract too much unwanted attention and the effort would fail. So an agreement was reached, only three would travel on the condition that they would take every Eldar child to a place that was safe." Celsys turned to the Tau and her smile became an annoyed frown. "And we were suppose to arrive in an uninhabited galaxy. But you!" She pointed an accusing finger at Prinol. "Chose that moment to meddle with forces you do not, and cannot, understand. And instead we arrived here!"

"You cannot mean to blame your situation on us." Said Prinol amiably.

Celsys scoffed. "Yes I can. Because it's your fault."

Prinol's calm facade began to crack fractionally. But it was Sparatus who spoke in an annoyed voice. "Well that was very interesting. But it doesn't actually help us with out current dilemma. How do we enter diplomatic relations with the Eldar."

Celsys leaned against nothing and examined her nails. "Yes I forgot to mention. Now they have arrived in a new galaxy. A new inhabited galaxy. They will each see themselves a separate, autonomous nation. Have fun with that."

"What?" Asked Sparatus. "That's insane."

Celsys shrugged. "I believe they have chosen Iyanden to act as the gateway to the other two craftworlds. So they each have a permanent representative living on Iyanden now."

"So if we ask to speak to a representative of the Eldar people?" Asked Tevos.

"You will get blank stares." Answered Celsys. "I recommend asking to speak to Ulthwe diplomatically. They might actually listen to you." She told them. "But I have overstayed my welcome." With that Celsys vaulted off the table, over Shepards head and stepped out the door, waving over her shoulder.

"I already hate her more than anyone I've ever met." Muttered Sparatus. Typing something on his omni-tool.

 **o0o**

The Turian fleet approached the craftworld slowly, warily. Ressi Setora looked up from her omni-tool and stared at the huge ship. The rest of the bridge was equally slack jawed, looking on in wonder. Ressi stepped over to her two colleagues, Dr Supant Vumino and Anysus Bode. "I have just received a message from councillor Sparatus. We should ask to speak with representatives from Ulthwe."

"What is Ulthwe?" Asked Anysus, struggling to pronounce the alien word.

Ressi transferred over all the information she had been sent, but answered anyway. "Apparently there are three 'craftworlds' in the galaxy, and they each act as a separate political entity."

"I am surprised they have chosen such an inefficient method of interaction." Commented Supant.

"If that is their choice." Said Ressi. "We must respect it. Sparatus has also advised us not to try and contact the craftworld Biel-Tan. We have also been advised to try and open relations with Iyanden, but our main focus is Ulthwe." The other two diplomats nodded in agreement.

"Captain. We are receiving a request to open communications." Announced one of the communications officers.

The ships captain, and leader of the patrol fleet, was a short but broad Turian woman named Santi Iyado. "Put it on channel four." She told him, meaning it would be put through her earpiece alongside that of the three diplomats, but no one else. The officer tapped in a few commands and nodded at Santi, who motioned to the three diplomats. The four men and women stepped into Santi's ready room.

Ressi cleared her throat. "You are speaking to Ressi Setora, Citadel diplomat. Also listening is Dr Supant Vumino and Anysus Bode. Both are also Citadel diplomats. Also listening is Captain Santi Iyado."

The voice that answered was male, and spoke with an almost accent-less voice. But was clearly annoyed at something. "Turian fleet. You are within weapons range of craftworld Iyanden. You have fifteen minutes to rectify this or you will be fired upon."

Santi immediately stepped back out onto the bridge and began barking orders while the three diplomats shared worried glances. "This is Anysus Bode speaking. We apologise for this clear intrusion. Who do we have the privilege of talking to?"

"You are speaking to Autarch Sunspear. You now have fourteen minutes." The voice told them with a clipped tone.

"We are in the process of removing ourselves from weapons range." Ressi assured him."We a diplomatic mission sent to open communications with the Eldar people on behalf of the Citadel." She told him, somewhat nervously. "Is it possible to speak to Iyanna Arianel?"

"We have been expecting you." Said Sunspear. "No it is not possible for you to speak with the Honoured Spiritseer. You now have twelve minutes."

"Is it possible to speak with someone of equal rank to the Honoured Spiritseer?" Asked Supant.

"You _are_ speaking to someone of equal rank." They could almost hear the sneer in Sunspear's answer.

"Yes of course." Said Ressi. "We apologise for any offence. Do you speak for all of Iyanden?"

"No I do not. And before you ask you cannot speak to someone who does." Sunspear told them.

Anysus was getting visibly annoyed with the man's attitude, but he did not let it show when he spoke. "May we ask why not?"

"Because Iyanden has no interest in speaking to mon-keigh. You are now out of weapons range, be aware you may still be fired upon if you return to a closer proximity."

The three diplomats turned around when they heard Santi entering the ready room. She was clearly annoyed at the direction of the conversation. Ressi tried a different tack. "Could we speak to a representative of Ulthwe?" She asked.

The communication cut off abruptly with a small burst of static. The four of them shared worried and confused looks until the line opened again just as abruptly. A female voice began speaking in a very superior tone. "You are speaking to Farseer Taldeer of Ulthwe. State your intentions clearly and quickly."

Ressi was about to answer when she and the other heard another voice on the other end. This one was a much softer, male voice, cracking with age. They could just make out him asking. "Is that them?" Much to their confusion.

"Yes father." Answered Taldeer.

"Invite them down to Feros. We'll have a chat over dinner." The male voice said.

"Father, you are not well. And you are not required for this." Whispered Taldeer.

The male voice laughed. "I am well enough to have a simple conversation my dear. Anyway it will do me good to leave the craftworld."

Taldeer gave a defeated sigh. "You three are cordially invited to the surface of Feros for dinner."

Their omni-tools beeped as they received a set of co-ordinates. And they shared triumphant looks.


	24. Chapter 24

Just to refresh memories and clear up potential confusion:

Anysus Bode – Turian

Dr Supant Vumino – Salarian

Ressi Setora – Asari

 **Mass Exodus**

 **Chapter 21**

The shuttle touched down gently onto the surface of Feros, just outside one of the crumbling Prothean towers. The three diplomats, accompanied by a squad of Turian marines, rushed through the dust filled wind to the towers entrance. The whole party had elected to wear thick enviro-coats to protect themselves from Fero's relatively cold weather but as they crossed the towers threshold they stepped through a shimmering barrier and now found themselves in a far warmer environment than they expected.

As they lowered their hoods they were approached by a group of five men and women. All wearing close fitting armour, all completely black except the face plates of their tall helms which were bone white. Four of them held elegant, long rifles that were also the colour of bone. The other had a holstered pistol and a sheathed sword at her side. They surmised that she was their leader.

She bowed low. The diplomats returned her bow. "I am Guardian Leader Felet." She told them. Her voice slightly distorted by her helmet. "Before you enter the hall I must search those who wish to."

The sergeant of the squad accompanying the diplomats stepped forward. An experienced soldier named Fimrian. "If I may? What will you be searching for?" He asked.

Felet turned her head towards him. "You will be searched for any weaponry or recording devices. If I find any you will be asked to remove them. If you refuse you will be barred entry. And no more than three of you will be allowed entry." She told him.

Her voice brooked no argument. But Fimrian did question her. "Will you be armed?"

"I will not be entering the hall. But there will be two armed guards yes." She told him.

Fimrian squared his shoulders. "I am afraid I will not be allowing the diplomats to enter under such conditions. I have no problem allowing you to confiscate any potential listening device, but their safety is my responsibility and I cannot let them enter a potentially hostile situation without any measure of protection."

There was a brief pause, Felet cocked her head as she considered this. "A compromise has been offered. You will each be allowed a single edged weapon, the two guards will each be armed in the same manner. But you will still be searched." She said. Fimrian looked to Ressi and she nodded her consent.

Ressi stepped forward and removed her long coat. She managed to maintain her dignity as Felet passed a small device over her legs and then arms. When it reached her arm it lit up momentarily. Felet looked at the small screen on the device and pulled up Ressi's sleeve. "You will need to remove this." She told her, pointing to her omni-tool.

"It's just my omni-tool." Said Ressi.

"It has audio recording capabilities and is attached to a large scale communication network. Remove it." Felet said somewhat impatiently. "She turned to Supant and Anysus who were both waiting to be searched. "If you also have omni-tool's, remove them."

A few minutes later the three of them had removed their omni-tool's and placed them in individual trays on a prepared table. And Ressi and Supant had been provided with small knives by Fimrian (Anysus already carried a battered knife from his military days) and Felet motioned for them to follow her.

She led them through the surprisingly clean corridors of the battered Prothean ruin. They supposed the Eldar had cleared them out but it must had taken quite an effort to get them so clear. After just a few moments they approached another barrier, this one they could actually see, and was a shifting, pearlescent blue. It was guarded by two tall Eldar, each wearing a similar helm to Felet. They were wearing long black robes coated in white runes, embroidered into the fabric. And most worryingly they each had a long sword with a blade of crystal cradled in their arms. Felet bowed to them and they bowed their heads back. Then she spun on her feet and left the three diplomats behind.

The left guard stepped forward and motioned for them to step through the barrier which he then stepped through himself. Ressi shrugged and followed after him. She had the momentary impression of walking through water before she emerged into a tall chamber. The left wall of which had collapsed completely and gave a view of a raging sea. But she couldn't even hear the storm let alone feel it's effects. Before her was a round table with three tall chairs on the side closest to her. On the other side were two more Eldar.

The first was wearing incredibly elaborate armour. The front was home to a sprawling rune that had been embossed over the lacquered black surface of the armour. His helmet was equally decorated but also had a tall, antler like, crest sprouting from the back of it. In his hand he held a tall staff topped by yet another rune. This one was triangular and contained a face, which was almost staring at her.

The second Eldar had removed her helmet and placed it on the table before her. Ressi looked at them and was immediately struck by her beauty. Her sharp, almost perfect features were only accentuated by her piercing gaze and her face framed by long, jet black hair. She looked sculpted by the Goddess herself. But it occurred to Ressi that the only way her look could be colder was if she had been carved from a block of ice.

The man motioned for Ressi to sit, which she did and was joined by Anysus and Supant quickly. She turned to the female Eldar and smiled as warmly as she dared. "You would be Farseer Taldeer?" She asked.

"I am." Answered Taldeer. Her voice as cold as her look. "You are Ressi Setora."

Ressi nodded. "Yes. And this is Dr Supant Vumino and Anysus Bode." She said. Motioning to her colleagues as she introduced them. "And who, might I ask, is your companion?"

The man slowly lifted his arm and gently lifted his helmet from his head, laying it on the table. And Ressi looked into his eyes. He had a kindly smile that deepened the small age lines on either side of his face. But the smile didn't reach his eyes. And looking into his eyes made the eight hundred and fifty years old Ressi not only feel young, but like a child. She swore could almost see the depths of time in them.

"I am Honoured Farseer Eldrad Ulthran. Chief Farseer of the craftworld of Ulthwe. Nice to meet you." He told them with a smile. "Now I assume you have called Ulthwe for a reason?"

Ressi smiled back at Eldrad. "Yes. It is my duty and pleasure to formally greet you on behalf of the Citadel. We hope that this represents that start of a wonderful friendship between out two peoples."

"Two peoples?" Asked Eldrad. "I appear to be under the impression that the Citadel is a coalition of races joined under one banner. Not a single people."

Ressi's smile wavered slightly. "Yes that is technically true. But I am sure that they would send happy greetings if they were here."

"I'm sure." Said Taldeer with a small sneer.

Eldrad smiled to Taldeer. "Now now daughter, play nice. I am sure she thinks she is telling the truth."

Ressi dropped her smile slightly as she considered this. Supant took up the conversation. "Whilst it is true that the Citadel is a collection of races. We represent the Citadel Council and they speak with the interests of every race in mind."

"I'm sure." Repeated Taldeer. With the same subtle derision.

Supant continued as if he hadn't heard anything. "The Citadel is a diplomatic and economic coalition in which the member races share culture and technology. They also provide economic benefits and safety to each other. And the Citadel also offers protection with it's fleets and armies."

Ressi looked to Taldeer, expecting another 'I'm sure' from the icy woman. Instead she got a cold stare which prompted Ressi to start speaking again. "Which I am sure you could benefit from greatly. You are situated quiet close to Batarian space here and there is always the danger of pirates."

"The Batarians will not be a problem for us." Said Eldrad. "And whilst I can see the many benefits of joining the Citadel, I am afraid that public opinion on any of the three craftworlds would be much against such a thing." Ressi's heart fell somewhat. Eldrad continued. "But, the craftworlds often have young Eldar leaving their homes in search of excitement. And a big new galaxy to explore is sure to attract many of them to Citadel space in search of new experiences." Eldrad paused for a moment. He rubbed his chin, clearly thinking deeply. "We should sign some kind of agreement. To protect such travellers."

"I agree." Said Anysus. Ressi and Supant nodded in agreement.

At that Taldeer produced a sheet of papery material and a pen. She began to write quickly and cleanly across it's surface, clearly drafting the pseudo-treaty.

Eldrad leaned forward slightly. It didn't escape Ressi's notice that he actually creaked when he moved. "I should also mention. Iyanden had staked a claim to this planet we're on now."

Rassi, grimaced slightly. "This planet belongs to the Systems Alliance of Earth." She told him. "They even have a small colony here."

Eldrad 'hmm'ed'. "The colony actually belongs to a Human corporation named ExoGeni. And they appear to have got themselves into a bit of bother with the local plant life. Some kind of infection spread by spores. A group of soldiers from Iyanden has dealt with the problem. But the Humans are a bit out of sorts." Eldrad sucked his teeth, which Ressi noticed were made of clear crystal. She (out of the corner of her eye) compared them to Taldeer's own, that appeared to be made from bone. Eldrad continued. "Perhaps if you were to evacuate the human colonists with your patrol fleet for now. And if the Humans still want to colonise this planet after hearing their testimony they may contact Iyanden and engage in diplomatic talks."

"You are asking a lot." Commented Ressi. "And the Humans are notoriously stubborn."

"I thought you said you spoke for all Citadel races." Sighed Eldrad. Visibly disappointed. "Perhaps." Said Eldrad, with his ever present smile. "If my daughter Taldeer was to accompany you back to the Citadel as a permanent diplomatic envoy. She could help you deal with any details and allow you to contact us if you need to." Ressi looked to Taldeer, who simply raised one of her perfect eyebrows and gave a cold smile. The bottom fell out of Ressi's stomach. "Why it would be as if we'd joined the Citadel anyway." Commented Eldrad with a small laugh.

"She would be very welcome." Said Ressi, slightly hot under the collar.

Taldeer slid over the paper she had been writing on. It was covered in thin lines of black writing, and Ressi was surprised she could understand it. But she supposed that was a deliberate effort of Taldeer's part. Ressi read through it as thoroughly as she could, but she was always aware of Eldard and Taldeer's stares. When she had finished she passed it to Supant who read it through. Taldeer pushed over another two pieces of paper. The first was an agreement to remove the Human colonists and the second an agreement to provide Taldeer a place to live on the Citadel and a standard array of diplomatic privileges. Ressi passed those around as well.

"I don't see any major difficulties." Said Anysus somewhat warily. He took the pen from Taldeer's outstretched hand and signed next to his name. Ressi and Supant did the same for all three documents.

All five of them stood and Ressi became aware just how tall Taldeer truly was. "I will join you shortly, I must collect a few personal items." Taldeer told them and she walked purposefully from the hall. Eldrad replaced his helmet and followed behind. Ressi turned to see the two guards beckoning them to leave with them.

All three of them listened to the wind howl as they sat in the back of the shuttle waiting for Taldeer to join them. The uneasy quiet was broken by Anysus quietly commenting. "I have a horrible feeling we've just made a huge mistake." The others could only nod in befuddled agreement.

"We've got someone approaching the outer door." Said Fimrian. "Opening up." He warned them. The side door slid open and wind filled the shuttle. Taldeer stepped in with an impressive level of regal poise, considering her robe and hair were being buffeted about around her. In one hand she carried a long spear topped by a long crystal tip, Ressi had a hard time convincing herself it was only ceremonial. And over her shoulder was slung a heavy looking cloth bag.

"We may leave." She said imperiously before sitting down in a nearby seat. Taking care to brush it clean with a gloved hand. And only grimacing slightly as she pulled the safety harness around her.

Fimrian looked to Ressi who nodded for them to leave.

 **0**

The three diplomats stepped into the ships ready room where Santi was sitting behind a utilitarian metal desk, reading off of her computer screen. "I've sent off your reports." She told them. "And we've begun to remove the Humans from Feros. But I anticipate only problems. Humans are stubborn when it comes to their colonies."

"Do you think we'll have to use force?" Asked Ressi somewhat nervously.

Santi shook her head. "No. But we will almost certainly have to get the Systems Alliance involved."

Ressi sighed. "They'll definitely want something in return. Can't think what though."

The intercom on Santi's desk beeped. The captain pushed the button to receive and a Turian voice spoke to them. "Captain we've finished evacuating the Humans-"

"Already?" Asked a surprised Santi. "It's only been an hour?"

"They came willingly." Said the Turian on the radio. "You'll have a full report soon, but they were terrified. They said something about giants coming from the sky and burning everything."

Ressi frowned. "That sounds like something from a storybook." She muttered.

"They were, a bit, out of it." Commented the Turian. "Medic says they've been under the effects of some kind of drug, he can't say what till he puts some blood through the lab. And there's something else. There's an Asari commando down here. Saying something about Saren, she wants to speak to the Council."

"Is she on board?" Asked Santi.

"She can be in under half an hour."

"Then do it." Santi told him.

 **0**

Taldeer looked around her small cabin and grimaced. It didn't even have a window. Just a small desk, a smaller chair, a very lumpy looking bed and a primitive looking computer. And the light was so artificial it was making her eyes hurt. She laid her singing spear down on the bed gently. It was just as hard as it looked, and the cloth rougher. She sat down on the chair, the feel of it confirming her suspicion that it was designed for someone at least a foot shorter than her.

She opened up her bag and pulled out it's contents. First, another bag filled with clothing. Then another bag containing her helmet and vambraces. And finally a third bag, much smaller than the other two. From this bag she pulled out yet another small bag. She reached into this and pulled out a handful of crystals, each carved on one side with an intricate rune.

She stood up and stepped into the centre of the room. She breathed deep and centred herself, reaching for the warp. The first time she had done so in this new galaxy. And immediately she new it was different. She had felt calmness in the warp before, craftworlds were naturally places of psychic calmness. But this was another level. It almost felt, wrong somehow. The warp had always been immensely chaotic, she had been born to a time of storms and daemons. Now that was absent, she felt like she had gone from a crowded room to an empty desert. The change was not unwelcome, but unexpected.

She had to to talk to someone with more experience in these matters. And she could only think of three people who had that much knowledge. There was Celsys, but talking to her would be an exercise in frustration. Maybe Iyanna, but she was spending some much deserved time with her daughter. That only left her father. Which rankled somewhat, she was trying to prove (to herself mostly) she didn't need to run off to him at every opportunity. But she had little choice.

So she cast her mind far through the warp. The rune of protection lifted from her outstretched hand and began to orbit around her, glowing with eldritch power. It took only a few moments to connect with her father's mind. "Father." She greeted across the warp.

"Taldeer. I take it you have just delved into the warp." He said.

"Yes." Confirmed Taldeer. "The warp is too calm." She told him.

Eldrad surrounded his mind with an aura of calmness. "I know, I have also just attempted to divine the future."

"Surely you have not failed?" She asked in wonder, and worry.

"Yes." He said simply. "But I believe I can do so if I simply delve deeper into the warp. We farseer's will still be able to see the future, it will just take a bit more work and caution on our part."

Taldeer considered this. "But I will not be able to. Not outside the safety of the Dome of Seers."

Eldrad was silent for a few moments. "I believe you will still be able to predict events that are no more than a day or two away with no problems if you are careful. But to peer beyond that will be to take a great risk with your soul. But it should be possible." Eldrad told her hesitantly.

"But you don't want me to?" Guessed Taldeer.

"No." Admitted Eldrad. "I want to keep you safe Taldeer." Taldeer smiled to herself whilst Eldrad continued. "But what truly concerns me is how the warp got this way. A greater calmness was expected, but for an inhabited galaxy to be like this is unfathomable."

"You will find the answer father." Taldeer assured him, and Eldrad returned her smile.

"Be safe daughter." He told her as she returned to the safety of her physical body.

She was greeted by the sound of artificial chimes. She plucked the rune of protection from the air and returned it with the others to her pouch which she attached to her belt. "Come in!" She called.

The door to her room opened to reveal a tall Turian male in chefs whites, and an impressive scar running down his neck. And one missing arm. "Pardon me for intruding miss. But no one's told the galley what your dietary requirements are." He told her in a rough voice.

Taldeer thought for a moment. "I require a simple diet of bread and diary products supplemented by large amounts of green vegetables and occasionally meat."

The Turian blinked at her. "That is very interesting miss. But this is a military vessel. All I've got is standard rations for the crew and relief packages for anyone else. All I need to know is if you're Dextro or Levo?"

Taldeer gave him a considered look. "The Eldar are Levo amino-acid based." She told him. "I will require my food in an hour or so." She said.

The Turians mandibles flared slightly. "The next meal is in half an hour. And if you don't like it, tough. I've got to cook for almost half the crew I don't have time to be your personal chef."

Taldeer scowled slightly at his bluntness. "I understand. I will not bother you any further."

"Thank you." He said genuinely. "And welcome aboard."

 **0**

Shiala sat opposite the three holograms that represented the Citadel Council. Wherever they truly were they were also sitting down and examining her closely. "You may begin." Said councillor Tevos gently. And Shiala told them what had happened when she, Saren and Benezia had met the Thorian. And Explained to them what the Cipher was.

"We may need you to give this 'Cipher' to Shepard." Said Tevos. "If Saren is not willing to give it himself." Shiala nodded.

"How, exactly, did you escape?" Asked Sparatus.

Shiala shook her head. "I'm not sure councillor. I can remember being released from my pod, after a moment of disorientation a looked down through the buildings central cavity. I could see what remained of the Thorian at the bottom. Its body was still smouldering from whatever had killed it. And I saw..." Shiala paused, looking for the right words. "It was a robot of some kind, I think."

"You think?" Asked Sparatus.

Shiala nodded. "It was at least fifteen foot tall. And carried a huge gun like it was a rifle. It was beautifully made whatever it was. As if it had grown like an organic thing. It's head was shaped almost like a tear-drop, and smooth. But I could tell it was looking at me." She told them.

"Can you remember anything else?" Asked Valern, who was taking huge amounts of notes.

"I'm not altogether sure it was entirely mechanical." She said quietly. Valern simply motioned for her to continue. "It didn't move like a machine. When it walked away it moved smoothly, with precision. But not like a machine, not like a machine at all."

"Could these Eldar have developed a combat AI?" Asked Valern quietly.

"It wasn't an AI." Blurted Shiala. "A living thing was definitely piloting it somehow."

"How can you know?" Asked Sparatus.

Shiala swallowed nervously. "When it looked at me, it could tell... It was looking _into_ me."

 **A/N: I may have to work hard to not let this fic become "Taldeer's adventures in the Citadel!" Maybe I could write some Omake's?**


	25. Chapter 25

**Mass Exodus**

 **Chapter 22**

Korless stomped up the ceramic path. On each side of him the fronds of exotic plants hung down over his head. Water dripped off of them onto his long quills and down onto his long hide cloak. He looked at the clock on the greenhouse's far wall again. An hour had passed since he last looked. He clucked his tongue in annoyance, spun on his feet and stomped back down the path. He reached the large pond where the rest of his pack was resting. Either laying around on the ground or washing in the pond. A couple of the females were even whistling, signalling their willingness to mate. Ordinarily Korless would reprimand them for wanting to have sex in the middle of a botanical garden, but at that moment he was far to annoyed with the Tau.

The last time he had seen them was when they left him here in the 'Kithoi Ward Botanical Gardens' with the rest of his pack. And that was the last he had seen and heard from them, but not _of_ them. This particular greenhouse (The largest) had been closed off to allow them some privacy, but that had not stopped Korless from sneaking out and getting information from the VI's dotted around the area. And they told him about the Tau press conference, where neither he nor his pack were mentioned. That had been quite a while ago, and Korless still held out hope that Or'es would arrive with an explanation. But that hope was slowly turning into the anger only a betrayed man can feel.

He stomped back up the path away from his pack. Ignoring the female dragging a young male into the bushes. He tried not to glance up at the clock at he took his rage out upon the floor.

His quills twitched, someone was trying to sneak up on him. He looked into the foliage around him, trying to spot whoever he could feel out there. Korless' eyesight was incredibly acute, even by the standards of Kroot, so it didn't take him long to spot the leaves rustling as if something had just moved past them. "I can tell you're out there." He called.

"That is impressive." Giggled a female voice. "That's the first time I've failed to sneak up on someone, well, ever." A tall woman dressed in black and white melted into view. Her face was completely hidden by a skull faced mask and she was wearing a long, black leather coat that hugged her figure closely. Had Korless any interest in such things he would have been slightly distracted.

"There _are_ Eldar here." He hissed.

The Eldar laughed. "A very recent state of affairs I must confess. We arrived with you, or you arrived with us more accurately." She told him.

Korless lowered himself onto his haunches, his hand drifting to his hunting knife. He watched the Eldar step out of the bushes and lower herself into a cross legged position opposite him. "My father met an Eldar once." Began Korless. "And I remember what a Human once told him and he passed onto me after he met this Eldar. Never ask an Eldar a question. You will get three answers, each true and terrifying to know. So, I ask, why are you here?"

The Eldar leaned back, gripping her own ankles. A whimsical smile on her face. "I came to have a chat. I decided it was time to update you on the situation regarding your Tau friends."

Korless raised a hairless eyebrow. "That was only one answer. And not particularly terrifying. I am disappointed."

The Eldar cocked her head. "Did you know your whole way of life is illegal now?" She asked with a concerning level of nonchalance.

"Explain." Growled Korless.

The Eldar reclined sideways, lying across from Korless, propping her head up on her hand. "It's very simple. Knowingly eating dead people is very illegal in Citadel space. As is modifying the DNA of unborn children." Korless could tell the Eldar was smiling behind her mask. "Don't those two things, form the basis for your entire society?" She asked with unconcealed mirth.

Korless clicked his tongue as he thought, finally saying. "Those laws won't effect me, I'll petition for special dispensation when I sign a treaty with the Citadel."

"You obviously aren't aware." Snickered the Eldar. "You have signed a treaty. The Tau signed it on your behalf."

Korless scoffed. "I don't believe you. Or'es would not allow that to happen." He told her.

"Oh no?" She answered coyly. "You have to have noticed that when the Ethereal is around she just can't seem to quite speak her mind." Korless stood up suddenly, surprising the Eldar who rolled onto her back and swiftly to her own feet. "You have noticed." She tittered quietly.

Korless stomped back down the path towards the pond. He gave a raucous squawk as he approached his pack. "We're leaving!" He bellowed. All fifty of them moved at once, quickly gathering up their affects and grabbing their long rifles. "Get the two who are mating!" He ordered and a pair of Kroot disappeared into the bushes. A moment later a pair of indignant cries sounded across the clearing and few Kroot began to laugh.

Korless turned back to the path where he had had his odd conversation. But the Eldar was gone.

 **0**

"Woo! Two days leave!" Shouted Shepard as she stepped onto the Presidium, followed by Garrus, Ashley, Kaiden and Liara. "Time for us to have some fun!" She shouted, thrusting her arms into the air in triumph. Upon receiving a glare from a nearby grounds keeper she quashed her exuberance slightly.

"We should go see Tali." Said Kaiden, who was walking on her right side.

"Yeah we should." Added Celsys, who had suddenly appeared on her left.

Shepard practically jumped out her own skin in surprise. "God damn it Celsys!" She cried. "Stop doing that!"

"Uhh Shepard." Began Garrus hesitantly. "She's been here the entire time."

Shepard glowered at Celsys, who was struggling to contain her laughter. "Oh. You. Bitch." She muttered.

Celsys patted her on the cheek. "Calm down my dear. You'll have a heart attack." Celsys produced a card from her belt and thrust it into Shepard's hand. She looked down and saw that it was blank except for an address. "Come round at Six, and bring Tali if you can." At that Celsys turned around with a smile and ran for the edge of the causeway and vaulted off the edge. Shepard and crew ran off to try and see her land. But they could see nothing. Only the gently lapping water of the lake.

"I think I kind of hate her." Said Shepard quietly.

"She is awesome." Gushed Liara.

"She's not allowed to swim in there." Said Garrus, matter of factly.

Liara gasped. "You're not going to arrest her are you?" She asked.

"No." Sighed Garrus. "I couldn't if I wanted to, I'm not a C-sec officer anymore."

"Anyway." Said Shepard, bolting off at a quick walk. "We're going to see Tali, and then we're going to whatever the thing Celsys invited us to is."

Tali grimaced at the plate that had been placed down in front of her. _'Yet more hospital food'_ She thought grimly as she pulled to top off a plastic bowl of grey mush. "Why don't they have any decent food?" She muttered to herself. She had just begun to place the first spoonful of paste into her mouth piece when she heard a commotion outside.

"I'm her friend!" Pleaded a familiar female voice. Loudly.

"And the rest of you!?" Shouted the elderly ward matron. "I'm sorry they are not allowed in!"

"Oh come on." Whined Shepard.

"One of you at most." Said the matron with impressive sternness. "Miss Zorah has sustained a very traumatic injury and needs her rest."

"Uh, fine." Grunted Shepard as she stepped into Tali's room. "Hey Tali." She greeted with a beaming smile. "She's a battleaxe." Laughed Shepard, pointing to the door with her thumb.

"I heard that." Came a reply through the door.

Shepard grimaced at Tali and the two woman laughed quietly. "So, you doing ok?" Asked Shepard, pulling up a chair.

"I'm fine." Replied Tali, returning to the slightly horrible task of pushing food into her mask's mouth piece. "Food's bad." She commented blithely.

Shepard didn't even try to hide her grimace as she watched Tali 'eat'. "Do you always have to do that?"

Tali nodded. "Yeah. It's pretty annoying." She admitted.

"Must be." Said Shepard quietly. "Well me and the gang just came by to see if you were alright. And to see if you wanted to come to a party, but I don't think the matron is gonna let you go."

Tali looked up at her. "Well I could ask my doctor." She said. "I don't think he wants me around anyways."

Shepard gave her a puzzled look. "What makes you say that?"

Tali shrugged. "It's just a feeling I get." She muttered. "Most people don't want Quarians around anyway."

"Well I want you around." Shepard told her. "It'd be great if you could make it to the party. At least I think it's a party, Calsys wasn't really specific." Shepard passed her the card with the address. "It's a warehouse in Kithoi ward. Turn up at six she said."

"I'll be there if I can." Said Tali with a thumbs up.

 **0**

Or'es yawned as she walked down the halls of the hotel she was staying at. The Council had been kind enough to pay for enough rooms for every Tau on the Citadel, over ten hotels all fully booked and filled with Tau of various shapes and sizes. Only those of a suitably high rank were getting full rooms to themselves though, and Or'es was one of the lucky few. Korless had chosen to take his pack to the closest thing the Citadel had to a forest and stay in a botanical garden, much to the Council's annoyance.

But as Or'es walked down the hallway she realised something. She could smell Korless. It was a little known fact that Kroot didn't produce excrement like any other race. Their digestive systems were so efficient they only produced a strong smelling liquid substance that they then sweated out. And it stank. Korless (like other Kroot) could alter this substance's smell so it didn't smell quite so disgusting. Korless only let it get so bad when he was challenged for dominance by a younger Kroot, or when he was incredibly angry. Or'es noticed her room's door had been forced open.

She stopped at the door and called into the room. "Korless, are you there?" She asked, almost wearily as she stepped into her room and started to undo the straps on her combat boots.

A crash came from the expensive suites rudimentary kitchen. Or'es stepped closer to the door, resting a cautious hand on her (mostly ceremonial) bonding dagger. The dreadful smell grew more intense as Or'es stepped into the kitchen. Korless was sat on his haunches pulling various jars and packets out of the fridge, inspecting them and (if they didn't meet his approval) throwing them over his shoulder. Then he pulled out a large bird of some kind, plucked and with its guts removed. Korless pulled of its legs and threw them into a different corner of the room. Or'es heard the snap of jaws and looked over to see Korless' hound curled up in the corner. It snapped up the second leg and Or'es swore it looked directly at her as it did so. Or'es became nervous, she had seen the thing bite through the arms of Orks before now and it was deceptively fast on it's thin legs. The thing was named Gutter. It was well trained and quite old. But it was as vicious as anything Or'es had ever met.

She turned back to Korless who was looking at her with narrowed eyes. He pulled a strip of meat off the bird and placed it in his mouth, swallowing it in a single gulp. "Hello Korless." She greeted nervously. "What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to talk." He said quietly. "About the treaty you signed with the Citadel."

Or'es licked her lips. "What about it."

"The Tau are now a member race. As are the Kroot." Growled Korless, narrowing his eyes.

"Yes." Admitted Or'es hesitantly. She brought to mind a prepared speech. "You're now the leader of your whole race. You have to think of the greater good."

Korless' face darkened. He had always been sceptical of the concept of the greater good, bringing it up was a dangerous tactic. And this time it hadn't paid off. Korless jumped to his full height. He towered over Or'es and growled dangerously. "We are not a client race."

"I am sorry Korless." Said Or'es, trying to remain calm. "But that is what you are under Citadel law. Prinol decided that we cannot make to many waves at this time."

"Pah! Prinol." Shouted Korless with derision. "I've known many Ethereals over my life and I can tell you, Prinol is an idiot. And bad at his job. You know it but none of you have the courage to say anything." Or'es tried to tell Korless he was wrong. But the words refused to cross her lips. "We are not a client race." Continued Korless. "And we never will be a client race. We were promised an equal partnership on Pech, but we have never had it."

"You do have an equal partnership!" Insisted Or'es.

"Then why was I not consulted regarding the treaty?" Asked Korless piercingly. "You have bound us by the same laws as the rest of the aliens. No eating the dead, no tampering with our own genetics! You know we need those things! They are our society, our lives!" Korless was towering over Or'es, bellowing down at her. She drew her knife instinctively but froze when she heard the clicking growl of Gutter. "And the worst part is." Korless told her, settling into a dangerous calm. "You didn't even argue our case did you? Prinol declared it, and it was so. He wouldn't tell his new friends about the disgusting company he keeps and you didn't even have the courage to stand by me." Or'es dropped her knife and nodded wordlessly.

"When I first met you. You would have done." Finished Korless, stepping past her. He whistled for Gutter, who growled as he slunk past Or'es. "Consider this a goodbye. I'm taking my pack away from here." Said Korless from behind her.

"Where will you go?" Asked Or'es quietly.

Korless clicked his tongue in thought. "Somewhere lawless. There must be a place that has a use for mercenaries somewhere in this galaxy."

"You know, we could end up fighting each other one day. And I won't hold back Korless." Or'es told him gravely.

Korless laughed. "On that day, I will enjoy eating you." He said. Or'es laughed at the strange compliment.

 **o0o**

The shuttle landed gently, it's hydraulic landing gear hissed as it took the weight of the relatively small craft. The side door folded open into a set of steps and Ressi stepped down them wearing a thin smile. She was followed by Supant and Anysus both looking somewhat nervous. Tevos nodded to each of the three diplomats as they stepped off the shuttle, as did Sparatus and Valern. The thee councillors weren't nervous, but they were wary. The reports from the diplomats had painted a picture of an incredibly intelligent and eloquent man, and if Taldeer was anything like her father they had their work cut out for them.

Taldeer stepped off the shuttle with an elegance Tevos was sure she would never see matched, carrying her spear upright, the point above her. The tall woman looked around her, examining the landing pad. Usually it held the Council's personal evacuation shuttle. But it had been emptied, in an effort to give Taldeer a VIP experience. Evidently the attempt to schmooze her had failed as she gave the area a look that was so dismissive (and disdainful) Tevos was surprised the landing pad didn't simply disappear out of embarrassment.

Tevos stepped up to Taldeer and bowed. Taldeer didn't react in any way Tavos could see. Not even deigning to look at Tevos, she just continued to look around her with a dismissive stare. "Miss Taldeer." Greeted Tevos with a smile.

"Farseer." Said Taldeer. With a slight sneer.

"Pardon?" Asked Tevos.

Taldeer finally looked at Tevos and the Asari only just managed to stop herself gulping with fear under Taldeer's impressive glare. "Someone of my station is referred to as 'farseer', or 'honoured farseer'." Taldeer told her. "Only those of a similar standing may use my name to address me. And only friends and family may not use my title." She explained before stepping past the three councillors towards the lift. The glass doors slid open allowing Taldeer to step in. She gave Tevos an annoyed look and motioned to the lift controls. Tevos got the message and hurried into the lift with Sparatus and Valern.

Soon they were sharing awkward glances as they sat themselves around a table opposite Taldeer. She looked across at them expectantly tapping her fingers on the table. Despite having been there for a little over twelve seconds she did a remarkable job of acting as is she had been kept waiting for hours. Tavos coughed nervously. "As per the treaty we have arranged an apartment for you. Spacious but not luxurious I'm afraid." Taldeer nodded and something approaching appreciation crossed her face. "We are also willing to provide a modest income, but we must insist that if you supplement it in any way we will withdraw such financial aid." Tevos waited a moment while Taldeer considered this. After a moment she nodded again. Tevos nodded back and pulled out a data pad and slid it across the table towards Taldeer, who picked it up and inspected it closely. "As you can see." Explained Tevos. "This is your new address. It's a lovely spot on the Presidium close to the shops and restaurants."

"I shall need some kind of assistant." Said Taldeer. She looked up at the somewhat confuse faces of the councillors and continued. "I am unfamiliar with this galaxy and many aspects of it. An assistant would be a great help in that and other matters."

"Of course." Smiled Tevos. "We can arrange that, we'll send over one of-"

"No." Interrupted Taldeer. "I would prefer to interview any candidates myself, and I'm sure there are many out there with the skills and experience I am looking for. So perhaps a missive to any local information centres." She suggested in a way that was clear it was not a suggestion.

"Of course." Said Tevos. Making a note in her omni-tool. "Now I am afraid we must be going. But we will be able to accompany you to the door." She told her with a smile. Taldeer didn't return it, instead she gave a respectful nod as she stood.

The four of them stepped out onto the Presidium followed by a large group of C-sec officers. But as they did so a tall man dressed in a black and white leotard stepped towards them. The C-sec officers sprang into action putting themselves between the approaching man and the three councillors, all drawing their weapons with trained speed and skill. The man stopped short, his hand falling the sword on his hip.

"Let him approach." Commanded Taldeer, recognising the man as a Harlequin.

Tevos nodded to the C-sec captain and waved the Harlequin forward. He bowed his masked face slightly to the captain and stepped up to the three councillors and gave a low, almost mocking bow. And he presented to them three white cards. The councillors took them somewhat tentatively, looking them over. They shared slightly confused looks as the Harlequin turned to Taldeer and gave her a respectful nod and passed her another white card.

Taldeer looked over the card. The only thing written upon it was an address, and a time. Taldeer looked up and was not surprised to see that the Harlequin had disappeared. "Where is this?" She asked Tevos, pointing to her card.

"It's a warehouse in Kithoi ward." She supplied. "Do you know what this is about?"

"It appears the Harlequins are organising a party. And we have been invited." Sighed Taldeer.


	26. Chapter 26

**Hey:** So it's been a while. Between writers block and a new job this chapter was a bit tricky. Sorry about that. And because it's been so long I will be adding a new, updated character list to the end of this chapter.

And for those who are interested, the music I will fail to describe later in this chapter was more or less anything from the album "Bending the Dark" by The Imagined Village. Go check it out, it's awesome.

 **Mass Exodus**

 **Chapter 23**

Kaiden stepped off _The Normandy_ still tweaking his shirt. Making sure it looked alright. "Stop preening." Admonished Ashley who was waiting on the docking arm. "You look fine." She said admiringly, looking over his red shirt and black jeans combo. Ashley herself was wearing a loose shirt and pair of tatty denim jeans. But she still looked good.

"You don't look bad either Chief Williams." Called the flanging voice of Garrus who was walking up towards them. He was wearing the Turian equivalent of a smart jacket, trousers and shirt. And it looked incredibly stylish. "You don't look bad either Lieutenant Alenko. We play our cards right, none of us will be going home alone."

Ashley barked out a laugh while Kaiden chuckled. "This could be a very important diplomatic mission." Giggled Ashley. "And you're using to try and get a one night stand?"

Garrus shrugged. "Apparently it's a party. I'm going to treat it like any other party." He told them. "Who else are we waiting for?"

"Just the Commander." Said Kaiden. "Liara said she would meet us there. We don't know if Tali can make it. But apparently G'dore is gonna be there as well." Garrus sighed in annoyance. "To be honest." Continued Kaiden. "I'm surprised she's coming. She was clearly only invited so Celsys could annoy her some more."

"I want to know how someone with such a short temper became a Spectre in the first place?" Asked Ashley, annoyed at something.

"She may have a temper. But she's good in a fight, really good." Explained Garrus. "What about Wrex?"

Kaiden shook his head. "Don't know, we haven't seen him since we got back from the debrief with the Council."

"He's probably standing outside Saren's cell sharpening a knife." Joked Ashley. Talking over the hissing of _The Normandy's_ pneumatic door.

Garrus chuckled. "I wouldn't put it past him."

"Put what past who?" Asked Shepard.

The three of them looked over the commander who was wearing a short red dress that hugged her modest curves.

"Lookin' good commander." Greeted Ashley.

Shepard blushed slightly at the compliment. "My mother sent it to me a while ago. This is the first time I've worn it. I didn't have anything else." She told them.

"It looks good." Said Garrus. He nudged Kaiden who was looking on somewhat dumbly.

"Yeah it does." He coughed finally. "Shall we get going."

The four of them walked down the docking arm chatting idly about what they expected from the party they had been invited to when they saw Anderson walking the other way, towards _The Normandy_. He waved as they approached each other. "I suppose you're off to enjoy your shore leave." He surmised.

"Didn't you get an invite to the Harlequin party?" Asked Shepard.

"Oh I did." Sighed Anderson. "But I haven't got any leave. I've got to prepare _The Normandy_ for departure in two days time. And given that Saren will be coming with us to Virmire, it's no small task."

Ashley scowled. "I still think we should kill him for what he did to Eden Prime." She growled.

Shepard laid a hand on her shoulder. "Next to a battle lost, the greatest misery is a battle gained. Killing Saren won't bring those people back Ashley." She told her quietly.

Shepard's Human companions looked at her with awe. Garrus was slightly confused. "Do Humans normally spout words of wisdom like that?" He asked.

"Shamans do." Shepard said quietly. "At Stonehenge we were told about that."

"About what?" Asked Kaiden.

Shepard shrugged. "Just saying random things like that. Usually it's a piece of advice you've given or something you said in a previous life. A lot of our training is about going on instinct with stuff like that."

"Well..." Started Ashley hesitantly. "If it helps. I think what you said is true. Killing Saren wouldn't achieve much of anything."

"Oh for gods sake!" Shouted Anderson. "You're on leave. Stop thinking about Saren and get drunk like proper marines!"

"Yes sir!" Bellowed the three Humans in unison while Garrus looked on utterly bemused.

 **o0o**

First there was nothing but black. Then the surface of reality slowly iced over with a blue sheen. Then the walls of space buckled. Had anyone been there to look upon the opening that now hang in space they would have seen the harbour of Ulthwe, and they would have been looking through the mighty warp gate of Calmainoc.

But through the gate did not come the black and bone ships of Ulthwe, but the white and green ships of Biel-Tan. Silently, they slid through the portal and each in turn activated their holo-fields. Becoming all but invisible to the defences of their target. Khar'shan, the Batarian homeworld.

 **o0o**

Shepard and crew walked down the alley cautiously. They weren't in a rough spot on the wards (according to Garrus) but it could have been better. And warehouse districts didn't have a good reputation overall. But this was where Celsys had invited them to, and they sort of trusted her. But they new they were on the right track when they saw a tall man in a black and white leotard signing for a delivery. Next to him was a large truck visibly weighed down by it's cargo.

As they stepped up to him and looked into the shadows of the vehicle they could see it was _full_ of kegs and bottles of alcoholic drink. "Well it's definitely a party." Muttered Ashley.

"You can go in." Said the Harlequin signing for the the mountain of booze. "Celsys is waiting for you inside."

Shepard nodded and pushed open the heavy door to the warehouse and stepped into the gloom. It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust to the soft purple and blue lighting, but once they had she could see that the place was completely empty. Well not completely, in the corners of the room were large piles of cushions and blankets that looked surprisingly comfortable. Harlequins of various states of dress and undress were lounging around in these large 'nests' talking softly, or sleeping soundly. Others were changing their clothes, putting their old garments into large sacks and dragging new leotards and jackets from the same bag. Strewn around the floor were large orbs glowing with light. And at one end of the warehouse a rudimentary stage had been set up but no one occupied it currently.

They saw someone waving them over and it took them a moment to realise it was Celsys and they made their way over to her. She was sitting cross legged on the floor close to one wall, apparently she had been deep in conversation with another Harlequin that Shepard recognised as Isendad.

"Last time I saw you." Began Shepard. "You had been thrown through a wall."

Isendad laughed lightly. "Less than I deserve. I did a terrible thing."

Shepard couldn't quite work out if he was being serious or not and quickly decided she didn't want to know. "I thought this was going to be a party?" She asked Celsys.

"It will be when more people arrive." She told them. "But no one shows up to a party on time. Especially college students."

"College students?" Asked Garrus warily.

Celsys laughed. "Yes, we needed to pad out the numbers some how. So we invited every student from a nearby college. And told them to bring their own beverage. It's gonna be fun."

Shepard could only nod weakly. But then a stray thought crossed her mind. "What about... It?"

"You mean the Solitaire?" Guessed Celsys. Shepard shrugged. "You mean the Solitaire." Celsys told her. "The Solitaire has wandered off somewhere. We don't tell It where to go or what to do. But I doubt we will see It for a couple of days at least." Celsys looked past Shepard and hastily changed the subject. "I think your friends have arrived." Shepard turned to see Tali and Liara stepping through the door into the warehouse. The two groups waved to each other enthusiastically as Liara and Tali walked over.

Kaiden looked back to Celsys. "So who else has been invited? Other than college students?"

She leaned back slightly and cocked her head, as if trying to remember something. "Anderson, but he can't make it. Udina, but he wont on purpose. The Council itself all have invites."

Shepard snorted out a laugh. "I can't imagine they'll be very comfortable at what basically amounts to a rave."

"I am going to get Sparatus drunk." Vowed Garrus. To which the whole group laughed and wished him luck.

"There's also the diplomat Ulthwe have sent to the Citadel, she got invited." Said Isendad.

Celsys looked over to Isendad confused. "I didn't know Ulthwe had sent over a diplomat."

Isendad nodded. "It was a stroke of luck we ran into her. Chadriel was giving the three councillors their invites when he ran into her and gave her the one we were going to give to that Kroot fellow Korless."

"I hope Korless got his invite anyway." Muttered Celesys to which Isendad nodded. "Who's the woman from Ulthwe?"

"I believe Chadriel said it was Taldeer. Eldrad's daughter." Isendad told her.

Celsys face became pale. "Taldeer?" She asked. Isendad nodded. "She's coming here?"

Isendad nodded again and Celsys sprang up to her feet. She rushed over to a nearby bag and began rifling through it, pulling out various objects and pieces of clothing throwing them over her shoulder.

"What's that about?" Shepard asked, looking to Isendad.

Isendad shrugged. "I don't know."

 **o0o**

Mauryon looked down at the holographic map before him. He watched as the first part of his plan unfolded perfectly. The blue dots that represented the Eldar fighter bombers sped towards the red dots of the Batarian listening posts and communications buoys. And almost simultaneously they all disappeared, cutting Khar'shan off from the galaxy. Mauryon motioned to his master of communications. The signal was sent and the huge ships of the Biel-Tan fleet moved forwards. And across the fleet, weapons of tremendous destructive power activated.

 **o0o**

Almost an hour later the warehouse was filling up with students and Shepard already had a slight buzz on. Realising that this was her second beer within the hour and she hadn't eaten anything all day she decided to slow down somewhat. She looked around to the stage and saw a truly fascinating sight. On the rudimentary stage four Harlequins were tuning instruments.

The first was essentially an octagonal drum, like a bodhran. But Shepard knew there was more to it than met the eye because every time the Harlequin struck the skin it made a wildly different sound than the last time he'd struck it. The second was like a cross between a violin and a guitar. It was a long block of material with six strings suspended along it, the Harlequin would run her fingers along a string and it would produce a soft keening note or she would pluck a string and it would produce a sharp twang. The final instruments were both the same but different sizes. They were both long horns that curved around almost into a spiral, hundreds of buttons lined one side of the tube which the players pressed in seemingly random combinations to produce, apparently, almost any sound they could think of.

"They're going to sound amazing." Said Liara from beside her.

"You think so?" Asked Shepard with a smile.

Liara nodded. "We have had limited observation of the Harlequins but they seem to be possessed of a natural dexterity that will lend itself well to playing a musical instrument."

Shepard gave Liara a lopsided smile. "'Limited observation time'? Couldn't you just say we haven't seen much of them?"

Liara blushed slightly. "Sorry, that is the archaeologist within me. I get scientific when I'm nervous."

Shepard cocked her head. "Why are you nervous?"

Liara's blush became fierce. "I am afraid you make me nervous Shepard." Liara was interrupted by a loud laugh from Shepard. "Please don't mock me?" Asked Liara quietly.

"I'm sorry." Giggled Shepard. "But I can't imagine anyone being nervous around me. Why could I possibly make you nervous?"

"You have been in contact with a Prothean beacon, you have some of their knowledge in your head. I have been fascinated by the Protheans my whole life and studied them for over forty years. I would dearly love to speak with you about the experience you had. Plus, you are a Shaman. When I was in college I was told to be respectful to all Shamans, And..." Liara trailed off, blushing again. Turning an attractive shade of purple.

"And...?" Probed Shepard.

"You are very attractive." Whispered Liara.

Shepards brain came screeching to a halt. "I, um. Thanks, I guess."

"Oh." Said Liara dejectedly. "I should not have said anything."

"No." Said Shepard immediately. "I mean yes, I mean... I'm happy you told me. But it's a lot to take in. I think you're attractive as well. But we don't really know each other well enough to jump into anything." She explained to an increasingly confused and slightly unhappy Liara.

"I suppose I see your point." She conceded. "But maybe we could get to know each other during the upcoming voyage."

"I'd like that." Said Shepard with a smile. "Now I've got to see if I can keep Ashley and Kaiden out of trouble."

 **o0o**

On the surface of Khar'shan military bases buzzed with activity as they tried and failed to make contact with their comm buoys and listening posts. The grand council of the Hegemony began to convene for an emergency session, speeding towards the council chambers from across the Batarian capital.

Miles above them the Biel-Tan ships sped silently through space. Like a group of predatory animals stalking and circling their prey.

On his flagship _Navarone_ Mauryon signalled to his gunner, who nodded back silently. As one, the guns of the _Navarone_ opened fire. Energy lanced through the skies towards Khar'shan. A few moments later the capital had ceased to be. It's ten million inhabitants reduced to little more than dust and vapour.

"Begin the landings." Ordered Mauryon.

 **o0o**

Music poured over the crowded room as the Harlequin band produced music almost completely unlike anything Shepard had ever heard. The twang of strange musical instruments, the beautiful keening of the almost violin and the electric beat that tied everything together. But Shepard was to busy working her way through the crowd to truly enjoy the music.

Shepard grabbed Ashley, who was bopping her head in time with the music coming from the stage. She was also watching as a visibly nervous Kaiden was dragged around the dance floor by a gaggle of college girls wearing very little. "I need a bit of air." Shepard told her, making herself heard over the music. Ashley nodded to her and they made their way out of the warehouse.

 **0**

Tevos had become nervous and suspicious as she and the other two councillors had approached the warehouse where the 'party' was being held. But as they approached they could easily see that the term 'rave' would be far more appropriate. Although the music was apparently being performed to a much higher standard than most rave music. And upon seeing the two young humans all but copulating against the outside wall Tevos became very aware that the six burly Turians in Tuxedos were no longer the discreet bodyguard she had imagined they would be.

"No." Said a very annoyed Sparatus beside her.

"No what?" Sighed Tevos.

Sparatus growled to himself before answering. "I refuse to play this game of theirs. If they wish to embarrass us they can do so another way."

"I recommend that you do well to play their game." Said a voice from behind them. They turned to see Taldeer walking up behind them. "It is the only chance they will give you." She told them, walking past with an impressive level of haughtiness given she was heading towards a student rave.

"I see no reason not to follow her advice." Said Tevos with a sigh, and she stepped into the warehouse after Taldeer.

The sound hit her like a crashing wave as she opened the door. It's otherworldly rhythm instantly made it's presence known and Tevos found herself struggling not to find a partner and dance with them. It was a battle almost all of the room had already lost as groups of young men and women danced in pairs and sometimes in threes.

The only people in the room seemingly immune to the music were Taldeer and Celsys. The two of them stood opposite each other in the middle of the dance floor, neither moving. They just stood and stared at each other. Taldeer's face was unreadable, but Celsys' own carried a look of genuine sorrow. Taldeer's lips moved and the two of them left the building through a side door. Tevos didn't dare follow them.

"May I have this dance?" Asked a tall Harlequin wearing a long leather coat.

Tevos raised an eyebrow. "You're Isendad." She told him.

"The mighty and famous." He replied with glee.

"We need to talk then." She told him.

Isendad pouted. "After a dance?" He asked.

"Now!" Said a very annoyed Sparatus, who had apparently chosen to join Tevos inside the warehouse after all.

"Fine." Smirked Isendad. "We shall, dance, later."

 **Remember to Review**

 **Character list**

 **Eldar**

 **Harlequins – Masque of the Sundered Veil/Smile**

Isendad – Great Harlequin

Lokas – Troupe Master, Light

Laebala – Death Jester, leader

Celsys – Senior Shadowseer

Chadriel – Troupe Master, Twilight

Fueban – Troupe Master, Dark

 **Iyanden**

Oladra – Guardian, Wraithlord

Iyanna Arianel – Spiritseer

Asaya – Exarch, Dire Avengers – Isana's father

Drakana – Exarch, Shining Spears

Spiranok – Exarch, Warp Spiders

Magron – Exarch, Dark Reapers

Samfire – Exarch, Howling Banshees

Zarast – Exarch, Striking Scorpions

Helios – Exarch, Crimson Hunters

Samaroth – Exarch, Swooping Hawks

Desaad – Exarch, Fire Dragons

Suspear – Autarch, in charge of Iyanden's defence

 **Biel-Tan**

Autarch Mauryon – Flagship: _Navarone_

 **Ulthwe**

Felet – Black Guardian Leader.

 **Asari**

Mirese Kyra – Captain _Thessia's Pride_

Ressi Setora - Diplomat

 **Salarians**

Dr Supant Vumino - Diplomat

 **Turians**

Anysus Bode - Diplomat

Santi Iyado – Patrol Captain

Fimrian – Sergeant

 **Tau**

 **Names: Earth Caste**

Fio'O Fi'rios Firir : Leader of Earth Caste

Fio'La Mu'gulath Orna'shash: Random Earth caste

 **Water Caste**

Por'Vre Ke'lshan Tsu'bur : Leader water caste

Por'La Mon'pras

 **Fire Caste**

Shas'O Or'es: Fire caste leader

 **Kroot Shaper** : Korless

 **Ethereal Caste**

Aun'Vre T'olku Prinol

 **Air Caste**

Kor'O T'olku Fralom – Air Caste Commander

Kor'Vre Ha'wind – Captain _The Raised Spear_

 **Shamans**

Citadel: Shaman Grant

Shaman Vranovsky _Admiral Nimits, Admiral Nelson_

 **Alliance Marines**

Harold Plotts _\- Segeant_


End file.
